UNiyERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  SAN  DIEGO 


3  1822  02211  1645 


,/,)n  (U) 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA.  SAN  DIEGO 


3  1822  02211  1645 


Social  Sciences  &  Humanities  Library 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 
Please  Note:  This  item  is  subject  to  recall. 

Date  Due 

AUG  0  8 1997 

CI  39  (2/95)                                                                       UCSD  Lt. 

31ol)n  ifififef s;  Writings, 
— ^— 

MYTHS  AND  MYTHMAKERS :  Old  Tales  and  Su- 
perstitions  interpreted  by  Comparative  Mythology.    i2mo, 

S2.00. 

OUTLINES  OF  COSMIC  PHILOSOPHY.  Based  on 
the  Doctrines  of  Evolution,  with  Criticisms  on  the  Posi- 
tive Philosophy.     In  two  volumes,  8vo,  ^6.00. 

THE    UNSEEN   WORLD,   and  other   Essays,      izmo, 

?2.00. 

EXCURSIONS    OF    AN    EVOLUTIONIST,      izmo, 

^2.00. 

DARWINISM,  and  other  Essays,     izmo,  $2.00. 

THE  DESTINY  OF  MAN,  viewed  in  the  Light  of  His 

Origin.     161110,  jji. 00. 

THE  IDEA  OF  GOD,  as  affected  by  Modern  Knowledge. 
A  Sequel  to  "The  Destiny  of  Man."     lomo,  ^i-oo- 

THE  CRITICAL  PERIOD  OF  AMERICAN  HIS- 
TORY,    1783-1789.     Crown  Svo,  ,^2.00. 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND,  or  the 
Puritan  Theocracy  in  its  Relations  to  Civil  and  Religious 
Liberty.     Crown  Svo,   $2.00. 

THE   WAR    OF   INDEPENDENCE.     In  "  Riverside 

Library  for  Young  People."     i6mo,  75  cents. 

THE  DISCOVERY  AND  SPANISH  OCCUPATION 
OF  AMERICA.     Crown  Svo. 

CIVIL  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
Considered  with  some  Reference  to  its  Origins. 
Crown  Svo. 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &  CO.,  Boston. 


AMERICAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS,  viewed  from  the 
Stand-point  of  Universal  History.  Third  Edition.  izmOf 
$1.00.     Harper  &  Brothers,  New  York. 


CIVIL   GOVERNMENT    IN    THE 

UNITED  STATES  CONSIDERED 

WITH   SOME   REFERENCE 

TO  ITS  ORIGINS 


JOHN   FISKE 


Aiaaoixai,  iral  Ziji'bs  'EAfuflept'ou, 

'Ifiepav  evpv(T6eve'  aft^in-oAei,  Sujreipa  Tv)(a' 

Tiv  yap  eu  ttoi'Toj  Kv^ipi'tovTai  Goal 

yaes,  €i>  )(ep(T<o  re  Aan/(r7pol  iroAe/uoi 

Kayopal  /SouAai^opot. 

Pindar,  Olymp.  xii. 

Thou,  too,  sail  on,  O  Ship  of  State ! 
Sail  on,  O  Union,  strong  and  great !  .  . 
Our  hearts,  our  hopes,  are  all  with  thee. 
Our  hearts,  our  hopes,  our  prayers,  our  tears, 
Our  faith  triumphant  o'er  our  fears. 
Are  all  with  thee,  —  are  all  with  thee ! 

Longfellow. 


BOSTON   AND    NEW   YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND   COMPANY 

1890 


Copyright,  1890, 
By  JOUN  FISKE. 

AU,  rights  reserved. 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 
Electrotiped  and  Printed  by  II,  0.  Uougtiton  &  Company, 


SDftiifatiotT, 

This  little  book  is  dedicated,  with  the  author's  best  •wishes  and 
sincere  regard,  to  the  many  hundreds  of  young  friends  whom  he  has 
found  it  so  pleasant  to  meet  in  years  past,  and  also  to  those  whom 
he  looks  forward  to  meeting  in  years  to  come,  in  studies  and  read- 
ings upon  the  rich  and  fruitful  history  of  our  beloved  country. 


PREFACE. 


Some  time  ago,  my  friends,  Messrs.  Houghton, 
Mifflin  &  Co.,  requested  me  to  write  a  small  book  on 
Civil  Government  in  the  United  States,  which  might 
be  useful  as  a  text-book,  and  at  the  same  time  service- 
able and  suggestive  to  the  general  reader  interested 
in  American  history.  In  preparing  the  book  certain 
points  have  been  kept  especially  in  view,  and  deserve 
some  mention  here. 

It  seemed  desirable  to  adopt  a  historical  method  of 
exposition,  not  simply  describing  our  political  insti- 
tutions in  their  present  shape,  but  pointing  out  their 
origin,  indicating  some  of  the  processes  through  which 
they  have  acquired  that  present  shape,  and  thus  keep- 
ing before  the  student's  mind  the  fact  that  govern- 
ment is  perpetually  imdergoing  modifications  in  adapt- 
ing itself  to  new  conditions.  Inasmuch  as  such  gradual 
changes  in  government  do  not  make  themselves,  but 
are  made  by  men  —  and  made  either  for  better  or  for 
worse  —  it  is  obvious  that  the  history  of  political  in- 
stitutions has  serious  lessons  to  teach  us.  The  stu- 
dent should  as  soon  as  possible  come  to  understand 
that  every  institution  is  the  outgrowth  of  experiences. 
One  probably  gets  but  little  benefit  from  abstract 
definitions  and  axioms  concerning  the  rights  of  men 
and  the  nature  of  civil  society,  such  as  we  often  find 


VI  PREFACE. 

at  the  beginning  of  books  on  government.  Meta- 
physical generalizations  are  well  enough  in  their  place, 
but  to  start  with  such  things  —  as  the  French  philos- 
ophers of  the  eighteenth  century  were  fond  of  doing  — 
is  to  get  the  cart  before  the  horse.  It  is  better  to 
have  our  story  first,  and  thus  find  out  what  govern- 
ment in  its  concrete  reality  has  been,  and  is.  Then 
we  may  finish  up  with  the  metaphysics,  or  do  as  I 
have  done  —  leave  it  for  somebody  else. 

I  was  advised  to  avoid  the  extremely  systematic, 
intrusively  symmetrical,  style  of  exposition,  which  is 
sometimes  deemed  indispensable  in  a  book  of  this 
sort.  It  was  thought  that  students  would  be  more 
likely  to  become  interested  in  the  subject  if  it  were 
treated  in  the  same  informal  manner  into  which  one 
naturally  falls  in  giving  lectures  to  young  people.  I 
have  endeavoured  to  bear  this  in  mind  without  sacri- 
ficing that  lucidity  in  the  arrangement  of  topics  which 
is  always  the  supreme  consideration.  For  many  years 
I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  lecturing  on  history  to  col- 
lege students  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States, 
to  young  ladies  in  private  schools,  and  occasionally  to 
the  pupils  in  high  and  normal  schools,  and  in  writing 
this  little  book  I  have  imagined  an  audience  of  these 
earnest  and  intelligent  young  friends  gathered  before 
me. 

I  was  especially  advised  —  by  my  friend,  Mr.  James 
MacAlister,  superintendent  of  schools  in  Philadelphia, 
for  whose  judgment  I  have  the  highest  respect  —  to 
make  it  a  little  book,  less  than  three  hundred  pages 
in  length,  if  possible.  Teachers  and  pupils  do  not 
have  time  enough  to  deal  properly  with  large  treatises. 
Brevity,  therefore,  is  golden.  A  concise  manual  is 
the  desideratum,  touching  lightly  upon  the  various 
points,  bringing  out  their  relationships  distinctly,  and 


PREFA  CE.  vu 

referring  to  more  elaborate  treatises,  monographs,  and 
documents,  for  the  use  of  those  who  wish  to  pursue 
the  study  at  greater  length. 

Within  limits  thus  restricted,  it  will  probably  seem 
strange  to  some  that  so  much  space  is  given  to  the 
treatment  of  local  institutions,  —  comprising  the  gov- 
ernments of  town,  county,  and  city.  It  may  be  ob- 
served, by  the  way,  that  some  persons  apparently 
conceive  of  the  state  also  as  a  "  local  institution." 
In  a  recent  review  of  Professor  Howard's  admirable 
"  Local  Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States," 
we  read,  "  the  first  volume,  which  is  all  that  is  yet 
jmblished,  treats  of  the  development  of  the  township, 
hundred,  and  shire  ;  the  second  volume,  we  suppose, 
being  designed  to  treat  of  the  State  Constitutions." 
The  reviewer  forgets  that  there  is  such  a  subject  as 
the  "  development  of  the  city  and  local  magistracies  " 
(which  is  to  be  the  subject  of  that  second  volume), 
and  lets  us  see  that  in  his  apprehension  the  American 
state  is  an  institution  of  the  same  order  as  the  town 
and  county.  We  can  thus  readily  assent  when  we 
are  told  that  "  many  youth  have  grown  to  manhood 
with  so  little  appreciation  of  the  political  importance 
of  the  state  as  to  believe  it  nothing  more  than  a 
geographical  division."  ^  In  its  historic  genesis,  the 
American  state  is  not  an  institution  of  the  same  order 
as  the  town  and  county,  nor  has  it  as  yet  become  de- 
pressed or  "  mediatized  "  to  that  degree.  The  state, 
while  it  does  not  possess  such  attributes  of  sovereignty 
as  were  by  our  Federal  Constitution  granted  to  the 
United  States,  does,  nevertheless,  possess  many  very 
important  and  essential  characteristics  of  a  sovereign 
body,  as  is  here  pointed  out  on  pages  172-177.  The 
study  of  our  state  governments  is  inextricably  ^vl•apped 
^  Young's  Government  Class  Booh,  p.  iv. 


VUl  PRE  FA  CE. 

up  with  the  study  of  our  national  government,  in  such 
wise  that  both  are  parts  of  one  subject,  which  cannot 
be  understood  unless  both  parts  are  studied.  Whether 
in  the  course  of  our  country's  future  development  we 
shall  ever  arrive  at  a  stage  in  which  this  is  not  the 
case,  must  be  left  for  future  events  to  determine.  But, 
if  we  ever  do  arrive  at  such  a  stage,  "  American  insti- 
tutions "  will  present  a  very  different  aspect  from  those 
with  which  we  are  now  familiar,  and  which  we  have 
always  been  accustomed  (even,  perhaps,  without  al- 
ways understanding  them)  to  admire. 

The  study  of  local  government  properly  includes 
town,  county,  and  city.  To  this  part  of  the  subject 
I  have  devoted  about  half  of  my  limited  space,  quite 
unheedful  of  the  warning  which  I  find  in  the  preface 
of  a  certain  popular  text-book,  that  "  to  learn  the 
duties  of  town,  city,  and  county  officers,  has  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  the  grand  and  noble  subject  of 
Civil  Government,"  and  that  "  to  attempt  class  drill 
on  petty  town  and  county  offices,  would  be  simply 
burlesque  of  the  whole  subject."  But,  suppose  one 
were  to  say,  with  an  air  of  ineffable  scorn,  that  petty 
experiments  on  terrestrial  gravitation  and  radiant 
heat,  such  as  can  be  made  with  commonplace  pendu- 
lums and  tea-kettles,  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
the  grand  and  noble  subject  of  Physical  Astronomy ! 
Science  would  not  have  got  very  far  on  that  plan,  I 
fancy.  The  truth  is,  that  science,  while  it  is  perpetu- 
ally dealing  with  questions  of  magnitude,  and  knows 
very  well  what  is  large  and  what  is  small,  knows 
nothing  whatever  of  any  such  distinction  as  that  be- 
tween things  that  are  "  grand  "  and  things  that  are 
"petty."  When  we  try  to  study  things  in  a  scientific 
spirit,  to  learn  their  modes  of  genesis  and  their  present 
aspects,  in  order  that  we  may  foresee  their  tendencies, 


PREFACE.  ix 

and  make  our  volitions  count  for  something  in  mod- 
ifying them,  there  is  nothing-  which  we  may  safely  dis- 
regard as  trivial.  This  is  true  of  whatever  we  can 
study ;  it  is  eminently  true  of  the  history  of  institu- 
tions. Government  is  not  a  royal  mystery,  to  be  shut 
off,  like  old  Deiokes,^  by  a  sevenfold  wall  from  the 
ordinary  business  of  life.  Questions  of  civil  govern- 
ment are  practical  business  questions,  the  principles 
of  which  are  as  often  and  as  forcibly  illustrated  in  a 
city  council  or  a  county  board  of  supervisors,  as  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  at  Washington.  It  is  partly 
because  too  many  of  our  citizens  fail  to  realize  that 
local  government  is  a  worthy  study,  that  we  find  it 
making  so  much  trouble  for  us.  The  "  bummers  " 
and  "  boodlers  "do  not  find  the  subject  beneath  their 
notice ;  the  Master  who  inspires  them  is  wide  awake 
and  —  for  a  creature  that  divides  the  hoof  —  ex- 
tremely intelligent. 

It  is,  moreover,  the  mental  training  gained  through 
contact  with  local  government  that  enables  the  people 
of  a  community  to  conduct  successfully,  through  their 
representatives,  the  government  of  the  state  and  the 
nation.  And  so  it  makes  a  great  deal  of  diffei^ence 
whether  the  government  of  a  town  or  county  is  of  one 
sort  or  another.  If  the  average  character  of  our  local 
governments  for  the  past  quarter  of  a  century  had 
been  q^iite  as  high  as  that  of  the  Boston  town-meeting 
or  the  Virginia  boards  of  county  magistrates,  in  the 
days  of  Samuel  Adams  and  Patrick  Henry,  who  can 
doubt  that  many  an  airy  demagogue,  who,  through 
session  after  session,  has  played  his  pranks  at  the  na- 
tional capital,  would  long  ago  have  been  abruptly  re- 
called to  his  native  heath,  a  sadder  if  not  a  wiser  man  ? 
We  cannot  expect  the  nature  of  the  aggregate  to  be 

^  Herodotus,  i.  98. 


X  PREFACE. 

niueli  better  than  the  average  natures  of  its  units. 
One  may  hear  people  gravely  discussing  the  difference 
between  Frenchmen  and  Englishmen  in  political  effi- 
ciency, and  resorting  to  assumed  ethnological  causes 
to  explain  it,  when,  very  likely,  to  save  their  lives 
they  could  not  describe  the  difference  between  a 
French  commune  and  an  English  parish.  To  com- 
prehend the  interesting  contrasts  between  Gambetta 
in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  Gladstone  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  one  should  begin  with  a  historical 
inquiry  into  the  causes,  operating  through  forty  gen- 
erations, which  have  frittered  away  self-government 
in  the  rural  districts  and  small  towns  of  France,  until 
there  is  very  little  left.  If  things  in  America  ever 
come  to  svich  a  pass  that  the  city  council  of  Cambridge 
must  ask  Congress  each  year  how  much  money  it  can 
be  allowed  to  spend  for  municipal  purposes,  while  the 
mayor  of  Cambridge  holds  his  office  subject  to  re- 
moval by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  we  may 
safely  predict  further  extensive  changes  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  American  people  and  their  government. 
It  was  not  for  nothing  that  our  profoundest  political 
thinker,  Thomas  Jefferson,  attached  so  much  impor- 
tance to  the  study  of  the  township. 

In  determining  the  order  of  exposition,  I  have 
placed  local  government  first,  beginning  with  tlie 
townsliip  as  the  simplest  unit.  It  is  well  to  try  to 
understand  what  is  near  and  simple,  before  dealing 
with  what  is  remote  and  complex.  In  teaching  geog- 
raphy with  maps,  it  is  wise  to  get  the  pupil  interested 
in  the  streets  of  his  own  town,  the  country  roads  run- 
ning out  of  it,  and  the  neighbouring  hills  and  streams, 
before  burdening  his  attention  with  the  topographical 
details  of  Borrioboola  Gha.  To  study  grand  generali- 
zations about  government,  before  attending  to  such  of 


PREFACE.  XI 

its  features  as  come  most  directly  before  us,  is  to  run 
the  risk  of  achieving  a  result  like  that  attained  by  the 
New  Hampshire  school-boy,  who  had  studied  geology 
in  a  text-book,  but  was  not  aware  that  he  had  ever 
set  eyes  upon  an  igneous  rock. 

After  the  townshij),  naturally  comes  the  county. 
The  city,  as  is  here  shown,  is  not  simply  a  larger  town, 
but  is  much  more  complex  in  organization.  His- 
torically, many  cities  have  been,  or  still  are,  equiva- 
lent to  counties  ;  and  the  develojjment  of  the  county 
must  be  studied  before  we  can  understand  that  of  the 
city.  It  has  been  briefly  indicated  how  these  forms  of 
local  government  grew  up  in  England,  and  how  they 
have  become  variously  modified  in  adapting  them- 
selves to  different  social  conditions  in  different  parts 
of  the  United  States. 

Next  in  order  come  the  general  governments,  those 
which  possess  and  exert,  in  one  way  or  another,  attri- 
butes of  sovereignty.  First,  the  various  colonial  gov- 
ernments have  been  considered,  and  some  features  of 
their  metamorphosis  into  our  modern  state  govern- 
ments have  been  described.  In  the  course  of  this 
study,  our  attention  is  called  to  the  most  original  and 
striking  feature  of  the  development  of  civil  govern- 
ment upon  American  soil,  —  the  written  constitution, 
with  the  accompanying  power  of  the  courts  in  certain 
cases  to  annul  the  acts  of  the  legislature.  This  is  not 
only  the  most  original  feature  of  our  government,  but 
it  is  in  some  respects  the  most  important.  Without 
the  Supreme  Court,  it  is  not  likely  that  the  Federal 
Union  could  have  been  held  together,  since  Congress 
has  now  and  then  passed  an  act  which  the  people  in 
some  of  the  states  have  regarded  as  unconstitutional 
and  tyrannical ;  and  in  the  absence  of  a  judicial 
method  of  settling  such  questions,  the  only  available 


xii  PREFACE. 

remedy  would  have  been  niillifioation.  I  have  de- 
voted a  brief  chapter  to  the  origin  and  development 
of  written  constitutions,  and  the  connection  of  our 
colonial  charters  therewith. 

Lastly,  we  come  to  the  completed  structure,  the 
Federal  Union  ;  and  by  this  time  we  have  examined 
so  many  points  in  the  general  theory  of  American 
government,  that  our  Federal  Constitution  can  be 
more  concisely  described,  and  (I  believe)  more 
quickly  understood,  than  if  we  had  made  it  the  sub- 
ject of  the  first  chajster  instead  of  the  last.  In  con- 
clusion, there  have  been  added  a  few  brief  hints  and 
suggestions  with  reference  to  our  political  history. 
These  remarks  have  been  intentionally  limited.  It  is 
no  part  of  the  purjiose  of  this  book  to  give  an  account 
of  the  doings  of  political  parties  under  the  Constitu- 
tion. But  its  study  may  fitly  be  supplemented  by 
that  of  Professor  Alexander  Johnston's  "  History  of 
American  Politics." 

This  arrangement  not  only  proceeds  from  the  sim- 
pler forms  of  government  to  the  more  complex,  but 
it  follows  the  historical  order  of  development.  From 
time  immemorial,  and  down  into  the  lowest  strata  of 
savagery  that  have  come  within  our  ken,  there  have 
been  clans  and  tribes ;  and,  as  is  here  shown,  a  town- 
ship was  originally  a  stationary  clan,  and  a  county 
was  originally  a  stationary  tribe.  Thei'e  were  town- 
ships and  counties  (or  equivalent  forms  of  organiza- 
tion) before  there  were  cities.  In  like  manner  there 
were  townships,  counties,  and  cities  long  before  there 
was  anything  in  the  world  that  could  properly  be 
called  a  state.  I  have  remarked  below  upon  the  way 
in  which  English  shires  coalesced  into  little  states, 
and  in  course  of  time  the  English  nation  was  formed 
by  the  union  of  such  little  states,  which  lost  their 


PREFACE.  xill 

statehood  (i.  e.,  their  functions  of  sovereignty,  though 
not  their  self-government  within  certain  limits)  in  the 
process.  Finally,  in  America,  we  see  an  enormous 
nationality  formed  by  the  federation  of  states  which 
partially  retain  their  statehood ;  and  some  of  these 
states  are  themselves  of  national  dimensions,  as,  for 
example.  New  York,  which  is  nearly  equal  in  area, 
quite  equal  in  population,  and  far  superior  in  wealth, 
to  Shakespeare's  England. 

In  studying  the  local  institutions  of  our  different 
states,  I  have  been  greatly  helped  by  the  "  Johns 
Hopkins  University  Studies  in  History  and  Politics," 
of  which  the  eighth  annual  series  is  now  in  course  of 
publication.  In  the  course  of  the  j^ages  below  I  have 
frequent  occasion  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to 
these  learned  and  sometimes  profoundly  suggestive 
monographs ;  but  I  cannot  leave  the  subject  without 
a  special  word  of  gratitude  to  my  friend.  Dr.  Herbert 
Adams,  the  editor  of  the  series,  for  the  noble  work 
which  he  is  doing  in  promoting  the  study  of  American 
history. 

It  had  always  seemed  to  me  that  the  mere  existence 
of  printed  questions  in  text-books  proves  that  the  pub- 
lishers miist  have  rather  a  poor  opinion  of  the  aver- 
age intelligence  of  teachers ;  and  it  also  seemed  as  if 
the  practical  effect  of  such  questions  must  often  be 
to  make  the  exercise  of  recitation  more  mechanical 
for  both  teachers  and  pupils,  and  to  encourage  the 
besetting  sin  of  "  learning  by  heart."  Nevertheless, 
there  are  usually  two  sides  to  a  case  ;  and,  in  deference 
to  the  prevailing  custom,  for  which,  no  doubt,  thei'e 
is  much  to  be  said,  fuU  sets  of  questions  have  been 
appended  to  each  chapter  and  section.  It  seemed  de- 
sirable that  such  questions  should  be  prepared  by 
some  one  especially  familiar  with  the  use  of  school- 


xiv  PREFACE. 

books ;  and  for  these  I  have  to  thank  Mr.  F.  A.  Hill, 
Head  Master  of  the  Cambridge  English  High  School. 
I  confess  that  Mr.  Hill's  questions  have  considerably 
modified  my  opinion  as  to  the  merits  of  such  appara- 
tus. They  seem  to  add  very  materially  to  the  usefid- 
ness  of  the  book. 

It  will  be  observed  that  there  are  two  sets  of  these 
questions,  entirely  distinct  in  character  and  purpose. 
The  first  set  —  "  Questions  on  the  Text  "  —  is  ap- 
pended to  each  section,  so  as  to  be  as  near  the  text 
as  possible.  These  questions  furnish  an  excellent  top- 
ical analysis  of  the  text.^  In  a  certain  sense  they  ask 
"  what  the  book  says,"  but  the  teacher  is  advised  em- 
phatically to  discourage  any  such  tiling  as  committing 
the  text  to  memory.  The  tendency  to  rote-learning 
is  very  strong.  I  had  to  contend  with  it  in  teaching 
history  to  seniors  at  Harvard  twenty  years  ago,  but 
much  has  since  been  done  to  check  it  through  the  de- 
velopment of  the  modern  German  seminary  methods. 
(For  an  explanation  of  these  methods,  see  Dr.  Herbert 
Adams  on  "  Seminary  Libraries  and  University  Ex- 
tension," J.  H,  U.  Studies,  v.,  xi.)  With  younger 
students  the  tendency  is  of  course  stronger.  It  is 
only  through  much  exercise  that  the  mind  learns 
how  to  let  itself  —  as  Matthew  Arnold  used  to  say  — 
"  play  freely  about  the  facts." 

In  order  to  supply  the  pupil  with  some  wholesome 
exercise  of  this  sort,  Mr.  Hill  has  added,  at  the  end 
of  each  chapter,  a  set  of  "  Suggestive  Questions  and 
Directions."  Here  he  has  thorouglily  divined  the 
purpose  of  the  book  and  done  much  to  further  it. 

^  "  This,"  says  Mr.  Hill,  "  will  please  those  who  prefer  the  topical 
method,  while  it  does  not  forbid  the  easy  transformatiou  of  topics  to 
questions,  which  others  may  demand." 

In  the  table  of  contents  I  have  made  a  pretty  full  topical  analysis 
of  the  book,  which  may  prove  useful  for  comparison  with  Mr.  Hill's. 


PREFACE.  XV 

Problems  or  cases  are  suggested  for  the  student  to 
consider,  and  questions  are  asked  which  cannot  be 
disposed  of  by  a  direct  appeal  to  the  text.  Some- 
times the  questions  go  quite  outside  of  the  text,  and 
relate  to  topics  concerning  which  it  provides  no  in- 
formation whatever.  This  has  been  done  with  a  pur- 
pose. The  pupil  should  learn  how  to  go  outside  of 
the  book  and  gather  from  scattered  sources  informa- 
tion concerning  questions  that  the  book  suggests.  In 
other  words,  he  should  begin  to  learn  how  to  make 
researches^  for  that  is  coming  to  be  one  of  the  useful 
arts,  not  merely  for  scholars,  but  for  men  and  women 
in  many  sorts  of  avocations.  It  is  always  useful,  as 
well  as  ennobling,  to  be  able  to  trace  knowledge  to  its 
sources.  Work  of  this  sort  involves  more  or  less  con- 
ference and  discussion  among  classmates,  and  calls  for 
active  aid  from  the  teacher ;  and  if  the  teacher  does 
not  at  first  feel  at  home  in  these  methods,  practice 
^vill  nevertheless  bring  familiarity,  and  will  prove 
most  wholesome  training.  For  the  aid  of  teachers 
and  pupils,  as  well  as  of  the  general  reader  who  wishes 
to  pursue  the  subject,  I  have  added  a  bibliographical 
note  at  the  end  of  each  chapter,  immediately  after 
Mr.  Hill's  "  Suggestive  Questions  and  Directions."  ' 

This  particular  purpose  in  my  book  must  be  care- 
fully borne  in  mind.  It  explains  the  omission  of 
many  details  which  some  text-books  on  the  same  sub- 
ject would  be  sure  to  include.  To  make  a  manual 
complete  and  self-sufficing  is  precisely  what  I  have 
not  intended.  The  book  is  designed  to  be  suggestive 
and  stimulating,  to  leave  the  reader  with  scant  in- 
formation on  some  points,  to  make  him  (as  Mr.  Samuel 
Weller  says)  "  vish  there  wos  more,"  and  to  show  him 
how  to  go  on  by  himself.  I  am  weU  aware  that,  in 
making  an  experiment  in  this  somewhat  new  direction, 


XVI  PREFACE. 

nothing  is  easier  than  to  fall  into  errors  of  judgment. 
I  can  hardly  suppose  that  this  book  is  free  from  such 
errors ;  but  if  in  spite  thereof  it  shall  turn  out  to  be 
in  any  way  helpful  in  bringing  the  knowledge  and 
use  of  the  German  seminary  method  into  our  higher 
schools,  I  shall  be  more  than  satisfied. 

Just  here,  let  me  say  to  young  peoj^le  in  all  parts 
of  our  country :  —  If  you  have  not  already  done 
so,  it  would  be  well  worth  while  for  you  to  organize  a 
debating  society  in  your  town  or  village,  for  the  dis- 
cussion of  such  historical  and  practical  questions  re- 
lating to  the  government  of  the  United  States  as  are 
suggested  in  the  course  of  this  book.  Once  started, 
there  need  be  no  end  of  interesting  and  profitable 
subjects  for  discussion.  As  a  further  guide  to  the 
books  you  need  in  studying  such  subjects,  use  Mr. 
W.  E.  Foster's  "  References  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,"  the  invaluable  pamphlet  men- 
tioned below  on  page  277.  If  you  cannot  afford  to 
buy  the  books,  get  the  public  library  of  your  town  or 
village  to  buy  them ;  or,  perhaps,  organize  a  small 
special  library  for  your  society  or  club.  Librarians 
will  naturally  feel  interested  in  such  a  matter,  and 
will  often  be  able  to  helj)  with  advice.  A  few  hours 
every  week  spent  in  such  wholesome  studies  cannot 
fail  to  do  much  toward  the  political  education  of  the 
local  community,  and  thus  toward  the  general  im- 
provement of  the  American  people.  For  the  ameli- 
oration of  things  will  doubtless  continue  to  be  ef- 
fected in  the  future,  as  it  has  been  effected  in  the 
past,  not  by  ambitious  schemes  of  sudden  and  uni- 
versal reform  (which  the  sagacious  man  always  sus- 
pects, just  as  he  suspects  all  schemes  for  returning  a 
fabulously  large  interest  upon  investments),  but  by 
the  gradual  and  cumulative  efforts  of  innumerable  in- 


PREFACE.  xvil 

dividuals,  each  doing  something  to  help  or  instruct 
those  to  whom  his  influence  extends.  He  who  makes 
two  clear  ideas  grow  where  there  was  only  one  hazy 
one  before,  is  the  true  benefactor  of  his  species. 

In  conclusion,  I  must  express  my  sincere  thanks  to 
Mr.  Thomas  Emerson,  superintendent  of  schools  in 
Newton,  for  the  very  kind  interest  he  has  shown  in 
my  work,  in  discussing  its  plan  with  me  at  the  outset, 
in  reading  the  completed  manuscript,  and  in  offering 
valuable  criticisms. 

Cambridge,  August  5,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

TAXATION   AND  GOVERNMENT. 

Page 

"  Too  much  taxes  " 1,  2 

What  is  taxation  ? 3 

Taxation  and  eminent  domain  ......  4 

What  is  government  ? 5 

The  "  ship  of  state  " '  .  5 

"  The  government  "........      6 

Whatever  else  it  may  be,  "  the  government "  is  the  power 
which  imposes  taxes       .......  7 

Difference  between  taxation  and  robbery      ....       8 

Sometimes  taxation  is  robbery  ......  9 

The  study  of  history  is  full  of  practical  lessons,  and  helpful 

to  those  who  would  be  good  citizens  .         .         .  9,  10 

Perpetual  vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty  ...         11 

Questions  on  the  Text 11,  12 

Suggestive  Questions  and  Directions       .        .  12-14 
Bibliographical  Note 14,  15 


CHAPTER  II. 

the  township. 

§  1.  The  New  England  Township. 

The  most  ancient  and  simple  form  of  government     .         •         16 
New  England  settled  by  church  congregations      .         .        16,  17 
Policy  of  the  early  Massachusetts  government  as  to  land 
grants .17 


XX  CONTENTS. 

Smallness  of  the  farms 18 

Township  and  village         .......         18 

Social  position  of  the  settlers         ......     19 

The  town-meetiug     ........         19 

Selectmen  ;  town-clerk  .......     20 

Town-treasurer  ;  constables  ;  assessors  of  taxes  and  over- 
seers of  the  poor   ........         21 

Act  of  1647  establishing  public  schools         .         .         .         .22 

School  committees    .         . 22,  23 

Field-drivers    and    pound-keepers  ;    fence-viewers ;    other 

town  officers 23,  24 

Calling  the  town-meeting  ......        24 

Town,  county,  and  state  taxes 25 

Poll-tax 25 

Taxes  on  real-estate  ;  taxes  on  personal  property         .         .     26 
When  and  where  taxes  are  assessed  ....   26,  27 

Tax-lists 27 

Cheating  the  government  ......         28 

The  rate  of  taxation     ........     28 

Undervaluation;  the  burden  of  taxation    ....         29 

The  "  magic-fund  "  delusion 30 

Educational  value  of  the  town-meeting     ....         31 

By-laws 31 

Power  and  responsibility 32 

There  is  nothing  especially  American,  democratic,  or  meri- 
torious about  "  rotation  in  office  "     .         .         .         .         .32 
Questions  on  the  Text 32-34 

§  2.  Origin  of  the  Township. 

Town-meetings  in  ancient  Greece  and  Rome         .         .         .34 
Clans;  the  mark  and  the  tun      ......         35 

The  Old-English  township,  the  manor,  and  the  parish         36,  37 

The  vestry-meeting 37 

Parish  and  vestry  clerks;  beadles,  waywardens,  hay  wards, 
common-drivers,  churchwardens,  etc.        .         .         .         .38 

Transition  from  the  English  parish  to  the  New  England 
township    .........      38,  39 

Building  of  states  out  of  smaller  political  units         .         .         39 
Representation;  shire-motes;  Earl  Simon's  Parliament        .     40 
The  township  as  the  "unit  of  representation"  in  the  shire- 
mote  and  in  the  General  Court  .         .         .         .         .41 

Contrast  with  the  Russian  village-community  which  is  not 
represented  in  the  general  government      .         .         .         .42 


CONTENTS.  XXI 

Questions  on  the  Text 43 

Suggestive  Questions  and  Directions    .        .      43-46 
bibliogkaphicai.  note 46,  47 


CHAPTER  ni. 

THE  COUNTY. 

§  1.  The  County  in  its  Beginnings. 

Why  do  we  have  counties  ? .48 

Clans  and  tribes         . 49 

The  English  nation,  like  the  American,  grew  out  of  the 
union  of  small  states  ......        49,  50 

Ealdorman  and  sheriff;  shire-mote  and  county  court  60,  51 

The  coroner,  or  "  crown  officer  ".....  51,  52 

Justices  of  the  peace;  the  Quarter  Sessions;  the  lord  lieu- 
tenant       ..........     52 

Decline  of  the  English  county  ;  beginnings  of  counties  in 
Massachusetts        ........        53 

Questions  on  the  Text 54 

§  2.  The  Modern  County  in  Massachusetts. 

County  commissioners,  etc. ;  shire-towns  and  court-houses  55 
Justices  of  the  peace,  and  trial  justices     ....  55,  56 

The  sheriff 56 

Questions  on  the  Text 57 

§  3.  The  Old  Virginia  County. 

Virginia  sparsely  settled  ;  extensive  land  grants  to  individ- 
uals   57,  58 

Navigable  rivers  ;  absence  of  towns  ;  slavery  ...         58 
Social  position  of  the  settlers        ......     59 

Virgmia  parishes  ;  the  vestry  was  a  close  corporation         59,  60 

Powers  of  the  vestry 60 

The  county  was  the  unit  of  representation  .  .  .  .61 
The  county  court  was  virtually  a  close  corporation  .  .  61,  62 
The  county-seat,  or  Court  House  .         .         .         .         .62 

Powers  of  the  court ;  the  sheriff 63 

The  county-lieutenant  ........     64 

Contrast  between  old  Virginia  and  old  New  Englaud,  in  re- 
spect of  local  government      ......  04,  05 


xxu  CONTENTS. 

JefPerson's  opinion  of  township  government  .         .         .65 

"  Court-day  "  in  old  Virginia    ......  65,  G6 

Virginia  has  been  prolific  in  great  leaders     .         .         .       Q&,  67 

Questions  on  the  Text 67,  68 

Suggestive  Questions  and  Directions  .        .       68-70 
Bibliographical  Note 70 


CHAPTER  IV. 

township  and  county. 

§  1.   Various  Local  Systems. 

Parishes  in  South  Carolina  .......     71 

The  back  country  ;  the  "  regulators  "        ....         72 

The  district  system       .......        72,  73 

The  modern  South  Carolina  county 73,  74 

The  counties  are  too  large    .......     74 

Tendency  of  the  school  district  to  develop  into  something 
like  a  township      ........         74 

Local  institutions  in  colonial  Maryland  ;  the  hundred  .         .     75 
Clans  ;  brotherhoods,  or  phratries  ;  and  tribes           .         .         75 
Origin  of  the  hundred  ;  the  hundred  court  ;  the  high  con- 
stable         76 

Decay  of  the  hundred  ;  hundred-meeting  in  Maryland     .         77 
The   hundred  in  Delaware  ;  the  levy  court,  or  representa- 
tive county  assembly  . 78 

The  old  Pennsylvania  county    ......         78 

Town-meetings  in  New  York        ......     79 

The  county  board  of  supervisors        .....  79,  80 

Questions  on  the  Text 80 

§  2.  Settlement  of  the  Public  Domain. 

Westward  movement  of  population  along  parallels  of  lati- 
tude        81 

Method  of  surveying  the  pviblic  lands  .         .         .        81-83 

Origin  of  townships  in  the  West        .....         83 

Formation  of  counties  in  the  West        ....        84,  85 

Some  effects  of  this  system        ......         85 

The  reservation  of  a  section  for  public  schools      .         .         .80 
In  this  reservation  there  were  the  germs  of  township  gov- 
ernment   ..........     87 


CONTENTS.  xxiii 

But  at  first  the  county  system  prevailed       .         .         .       87,  88 
Questions  on  the  Text 88 

§  3.  The  Representative  Township-County  System  in  the  West. 
The  town-meeting  in  Michigan     ......     89 

Conflict  between  towushijj  and  county  systems  in  Illinois    89,  90 

Effects  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787 90 

Intense  vitality  of  the  township  system         .         .         .         .91 
County  option  and  township  option  in  Missouri,  Nebraska, 

Minnesota,  and  Dakota 91,  92 

Grades  of  township  government  in  the  West         .         .         .92 
An  excellent  result  of  the  absence  of  centralization  in  the 

United  States 93 

Effect  of  the  self-governing  school  district  in  the  South,  in 

preparing  the  way  for  the  self-governing  township  .         .     94 
Woman-suffrage  in  the  school  district       ....  94,  95 

Questions  on  the  Text 95,  96 

Suggestive  Questions  and  Directions       .        .  96-98 
Bibliographical  Note 98 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   CITY. 

§  1.  Direct  and  Indirect  Government. 

Summary  of  the  foregoing  results  ;  township  government 
is  direct,  county  government  is  indirect         ...         99 

Representative  government  is  necessitated  in  a  county  by 
the  extent  of  territory,  and  in  a  city  by  the  multitude  of 
people 100,  101 

Josiah  Quincy's  account  of  the  Boston  town-meeting  in 
1830 101,  102 

Distinctions  between  towns  and  cities  in  America  and  in 

England 102,  103 

Questions  on  the  Text 104 

§  2.   Origin  of  English  Boroughs  and  Cities. 

Origin  of  the  chesters  and  casters  in  Roman  camps  .         .  104 

Coalescence  of  towns  into  fortified  boroughs     .  .        104,  105 

The  borough  as  a  hundred  ;  it  acquires  a  court    .  .         .  105 

The  borough  as  a  county  ;  it  acquires  a  sheriff  .        105,  106 


XXIV  CONTENTS. 

Government  of  Loudon  under  Henry  I.  .  .  .  .  106 
The  guilds  ;  the  town  guild,  and  Guild  Hall  .  .  106,  107 
Government  of  London  as  perfected  in  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury ;  mayor,  aldermen,  and  common  council  .  .  107,  108 
The  city  of  London,  and  the  metropolitan  district  .  .  108 
English  cities  were  for  a  long  time  the  bulwarks  of  liberty     109 

Simon  de  Moutfort  and  the  cities 110 

Oligarchical   abuses   in   English   cities,  beginning  with  the 

Tudor  period 110 

The  Municipal  Reform  Act  of  1835 Ill 

Government  of  the  city  of  New  York  before  the  Revolu- 
tion         111,112 

Changes  after  the  Revolution        .....    112,  113 
City   government   in    Philadelphia  in  the  eighteenth   cen- 
tury        113,114 

The  very  tradition  of  good  government  was  lacking  in  these 
cities         ..........  114 

Questions  on  the  Text        ....       114-116 

§  3.  The  Government  of  Cities  in  the  United  States, 

Several  features  of  our  municipal  governments    .         .    110,  117 
In  many  cases  they  do  not  seem  to  work  well  .         .        117,  118 
Rapid  growth  of  American  cities  .         .         .         .         .119 

Some  consequences  of  this  rapid  growth    ....       120 

Wastefulness  resulting  from  want  of  foresight     .         .         .  121 
Growth  in  complexity  of  government  in  cities  .         .        121,  122 
Illustrated  by  list  of  municipal  officers  in  Boston  .   122,  123 

How  city  government  comes  to  be  a  mystery  to  the  citizens, 
in  some  respects  harder  to  understand   thau  state   and 
national  government      .......       124 

Dread  of  the  "  one-man  power  "  lias  in  many  cases  led  to 

scattering  and  weakening  of  responsibility        .         .         .  125 
Committees  inefficient  for  executive  purposes  ;  the  "  Cir- 
cumlocution Office " 126 

Alarming  increase   of  city  debts,  and  various  attempts  to 

remedy  the  evil 127 

Experience  of  New  York  with  state  interference  in  muni- 
cipal affairs  ;  unsatisfactory  results       .         .         .        127-129 
The  Tweed  Ring  in  New  York     ......  129 

The  present  is  a  period  of  experiments      ....       130 

The  new  government  of  Brooklyn         ....    130-1.'?3 

Necessity  of  separating  municipal  from  national  jiolitics  .       132 


CONTENTS.  XXV 

Notion   that   the   suffrage    ought    to   be    restricted  ;    evils 
wrought  by  ignorant  voters       ......  133 

Evils  wrought  by   wealthy  speculators  ;    testimony  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Municipal  Commission     ....       13-1: 

Dangers  of  a  restricted  suffrage 134,  135 

Baneful  effects  of  mixing  city  politics  with  national  poli- 
tics        .........        135,  136 

The  "spoils  system  "  must  be  destroyed,  root  and  branch  ; 
ballot  reform  also  indispensable         .....  136 

Questions  on  the  Text         ....       136-138 

Suggestive  Questions  and  Directions           .   138,  139 
Bibliographical  Note 139 


CHAPTER  VI. 

the  state. 

§  1.  The  Colonial  Governments. 

Claims  of  Spain  to  the  possession  of  North  America    .         .  140 
Claims  of  France  and  England  ....        140,  141 

The  London  and  Plymouth  Companies  ....  141 

Their  common  charter      .......       142 

Dissolution  of  the  two  companies  .....  143 

States  formed  in  the  three  zones       ....        143-145 

Formation  of  representative  governments  ;  House  of  Bur- 
gesses iu  Virginia 145,  146 

Company  of  Massachusetts  Bay 146 

Transfer  of  the  charter  from  England  to  Massachusetts  147 

The  General  Court  ;  assistants  and  deputies         .         .    147,  148 
Virtual  independence  of  Massachusetts,  and  quarrels  with 

the  Crown 148 

New  charter  of  Massachusetts  in  1692  ;  its  liberties  cur- 
tailed         149 

Republican  governments  in  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island      149 
Counties  palatine  in  England  ;  proprietary  charter  of  Mary- 
land        150,  151 

Proprietary  charter  of  Pennsylvania     .....  152 
Quarrels  between  Penns  and  Calverts  ;  Mason  and  Dixon's 

line 152 

Other  proprietary  governments    .....   152,  153 
They  generally  became  unpopular     .....       153 


XXVI  CONTENTS. 

At  the  time  of  the  Revohition  there  were  three  forms  of  co- 
lonial government  :  1.  Republican  ;  2.  Proprietary  ;  3. 
Royal        ..........  154 

(After  1G92  the  government  of  Massachusetts  might  be  de- 
scribed as  Semi-royal)   .......       154 

In  all  three  forms  there  was  a  representative  assembly, 
which  alone  could  impose  taxes  ....    154,  155 

The  governor's  council  was  a  kind  of  upper  house    .  .       155 

The  colonial  government  was  much  like  the  English  system 
in  miniature       .........  155 

The  Americans  never  admitted  the  supremacy  of  parlia- 
ment     ..........       156 

Except  in  the  regulation  of  maritime  commerce  .         .         .  157 

In  England  there  grew  up  the  theory  of  the  imperial  su- 
premacy of  parliament  ......       157 

And  the  conflict  between  the  British  and  American  theories 
was  precipitated  by  becoming  involved  in  the  political 

schemes  of  George  III 158 

Questions  on  the  Text         ....       159,  160 

§  2.   The  Transition  from  Colonial  to  State  Governments. 

Dissolution  of  assemblies  and  parliaments    ....  161 

Committees  of  correspondence  ;  provincial  congresses      .  162 

Provisional  governments  ;  "  governors  "  and  "  presidents  "  163 

Origin  of  the  senates     ........  164 

Likenesses  and  differences  between  British  and  American 

systems  .........  165 

Questions  on  the  Text 165,  166 

§  3.   The  State  Governments. 

Later  modifications   .....•••       166 

Universal  suffrage         .....•••  167 

Separation  between  legislative  and  executive  departments  ; 
its  advantages  and  disadvantages  as  compared  with  the 
European  plan       .......        168,  169 

In  our  system  the  independence  of  the  executive  is  of  vital 
importance         ......■••  169 

The  state  executive  .....•••       169 

The   governor's   functions  :    1.  Adviser   of   legislature  ;  2. 
Commander   of   state   militia ;   3.  Royal   prerogative    of 
pardon  ;  4.  Veto  power    ......    170,  171 

Importance  of  the  veto  power  as  a  safeguard  against  cor- 
ruption .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         •       1"1 


CONTENTS.  xxvii 

In  building  the  state,  the  local  self-government  was  left  un- 
impaired ..........   172 

Instructive  contrast  with  France        .....       173 

Some  causes  of  French  political  incapacity   ....  174 

Vastness  of  the  functions  retained  by  the  states  in  the  Amer- 
ican Union 175,  176 

Illustration  from  recent  English  history        .         .         .    176,  177 
Independence  of  the  state  courts        .         •         .         .         .177 
Constitution  of  the  state  courts     ......  178 

Elective  and  appointive  judges  .....       179 

Questions  on  the  Text 180,  181 

Suggestive  Questions  and  Directions       .       181-185 
Bibliographical  Note 185,  186 


CHAPTER  VII. 

written  constitutions. 

In  the  American  state  there  is  a  power  above  the  legis- 
lature     187 

Germs  of  the  idea  of  a  written  constitution  ....  188 
Development  of  the  idea  of  contract  in  Roman  law  ;  medi- 
seval  charters  ........       188 

The  "  Great  Charter  "  (1215) 189 

The  Bill  of  Rights  (1689) 190 

Foreshadowing  of  the   American  idea  by  Sir  Harry  Vane 

(1656) 191 

The  Mayflower  compact  (1620) 192 

The  "  Fundamental  Orders  "  of  Connecticut  (1639)     .    192,  193 
Germinal  development  of  the  colonial  charter  toward  the 
modern  state  constitution      .         .         .         .         .         .193 

Abnormal  development  of  some  recent  state  constitutions, 
encroaching  upon  the  legislature   .....       194 

The  process  of  amending  constitutions  ....  195 

The  Swiss  "  Referendum  " 196 

Questions  on  the  Text 196-198 

Suggestive  Questions  and  Directions       .       198, 199 
Bibliographical  Note 200 


xxvui  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   FEDERAL   UNION. 

§  1.   Origin  of  the  Federal  Union. 

Circumstances  favourable  to  the  union  of  the  colonies       .       201 
The  New  England  Confederacy  (1G43-84)  .         .         .         .202 
Albany  Congress  (1754)  ;    Stamp    Act   Congress   (1765)  ; 
Committees  of  Correspondence  (1772-75)     .         .         .       203 

The  Continental  Congress  (1774-89) 204 

The  several  states  were  never  at  any  time  sovereign  states     205 
The  Articles  of  Confederation  ......       205 

Nature  and  powers  of  the  Continental  Congress  .         .    206,  207 
It  could  not  impose  taxes,  and  therefore  was  not  fully  en- 
dowed with  sovereignty  ......       207 

Decline  of  the  Continental  Congress     .....  208 

Weakness  of  the   sentiment  of  union  ;  anarchical  tenden- 
cies         208,  209 

The  Federal  Convention  (1787) 209-211 

Questions  on  the  Text        ....       211, 212 

§  2.  The  Federal  Congress. 

The  House  of  Representatives 212-214 

The  three  fifths  compromise      ......       213 

The  Connecticut  compromise        ......  214 

The  Senate 213 

Electoral  districts  ;  the  "  Gerrymander "    ..         .         .    216,217 

The  election  at  large 218 

Time  of  assembling 219 

Privileges  of  members 220 

The  Speaker 220 

Impeachment  in  England  ;  in  the  United  States       .         .       221 
The  president's  veto  power  .......  222 

Questions  on  the  Text        ....       223, 224 

§  3.  The  Federal  Executive. 

The  title  of  "  President  " 224 

The  electoral  college 225,  226 

The  twelfth  amendment        .......  227 

The  electoral  commission  (1877)       .....       228 

Provisions  against  a  lapse  of  the  presidency  .         .   228,  229 


CONTENTS.  XXIX 

Original  purpose  of  the  electoral  college  not  fulfilled  .         .  229 
Electors  formerly  chosen  in  many  states  by  districts  ;  now 
always  on  a  general  ticket         .         .         .         .         .         .  230 

"  Minority  presidents  " 230,  231 

Advantages  of  the  electoral  system       .....  231 
Nomination  of  candidates  by  congressional  caucus  (1800-24)  232 
Nominating  conventions  ;  the  "  primary  "  ;  the  district  con- 
vention ;  the  national  convention  .....       233 

.  234 

234,  235 

.  235 

.   236 

.  237 

.   238 

.  239 

.   240 

240-243 


Qualifications  for  the  presidency  ;  the  term  of  office 
Powers  and  duties  of  the  president  . 
The  president's  message        ..... 
Executive  departments  ;  the  cabinet 

The  secretary  of  state 

Diplomatic  and  consular  service 

The  secretary  of  the  treasury        .... 

The  other  departments 

Questions  on  the  Text    .... 


§  4.  The  Nation  and  the  States. 

DifPerence  between  confederation  and  federal  union  .       243 

Powers  granted  to  Congress  ......  244 

The  "  Elastic  Clause  " 245 

Powers  denied  to  the  states  ......  245 

Evils  of  an  inconvertible  paper  currency  .         .         .        245,  246 
Powers  denied  to  Congress  .......  247 

Bills  of  attainder 247 

Intercitizenship  ;  mode  of  making  amendments   .         .         .  248 
Questions  on  the  Text         .        .        ...       249, 250 

§  5.  The  Federal  Judiciary. 

Need  for  a  federal  judiciary         ......  250 

Federal  courts  and  judges 250,  251 

District  attorneys  and  marshals    ......  251 

The  federal  jurisdiction    ......       251,  252 

Questions  on  the  Text 252 

§  6.   Territorial  Government. 

The  Northwest  Territory  and  the  Ordinance  of  1787        .       253 

Other  territories  and  their  government         ....  254 

Questions  on  the  Text 254 


XXX  CONTENTS. 

§  7.  Ralijication  and  Amendments. 
Provisions  for  ratification      .......  255 

Concessions  to  slavery       .......       255 

Demand  for  a  bill  of  rights  ......  256 

The  first  ten  amendments  ......       256 

Questions  on  the  Text 257 

§  8.  ^  Few  Words  about  Politics. 

Federal  taxation        ........       257 

Hamilton's  policy  ;  excise  ;  tariff  ....   258,  259 

Origin  of  American  political  parties  ;  strict  and  loose  con- 
struction of  the  Elastic  Clause       .....       259 

Tariff,  Internal  Improvements,  and  National  Bank       .         .  260 

Civil  Service  reform 261 

Origin  of  the  "  spoils  system  "  in  the  state  politics  of  New- 
York  and  Pennsylvania     .......  262 

"  Rotation  in  office  ; "  the  Crawford  Act  ....       262 

How  the  "  spoils  system  "  was  made  national       .         .         .  263 

The  Civil  Service  Act  of  1883 264 

The  Australian  ballot 265 

The  English  system  of  accounting  for  election  expenses    .       266 

Questions  on  the  Text 267,  268 

Suggestive  Questions  and  Directions       .       269-271 
Bibliographical  Note 272-277 


APPENDIX. 

A.  The  Articles  of  Confederation 

B.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States      . 

C.  Magna  Charta 

D.  Part  of  the  Bill  of  Rights,  1689       . 

E.  The  Fundamental  Orders  of  Connecticut 

F.  The  States  classified  according  to  origin  . 

G.  Table  of  states  and  territories 
H.  Population  of  the  United  States  1790-1880,  with  per 


279 

287 
308 
325 
329 
335 
336 

centages  of  urban  population  ....  337 

I.    An  Examination  Paper  for  Customs  Clerks     .         .       337 

J.    The  New  York  Corrupt  Practices  Act  of  1890    .         .  342 

K.    Specimen  of  an  Australian  ballot    ....       347 

Index 353 


CIVIL  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
CONSIDERED   WITH   SOME   REFER- 
ENCE TO  ITS   ORIGINS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

TAXATION   AND   GOVERNMENT. 

In  that  strangely  beautiful  story,  "The  Cloister 
and  the  Hearth,"  in  which  Charles  Reacle  has  drawn 
such  a  vivid  picture  of  human  life  at  the  close  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  there  is  a  good  description  of  the  siege 
of  a  revolted  town  by  the  army  of  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy. Arrows  whiz,  catapults  hurl  their  ponderous 
stones,  wooden  towers  are  built,  secret  mines  are  ex- 
ploded. The  sturdy  citizens,  led  by  a  tall  knight  who 
seems  to  bear  a  charmed  life,  baffle  every  device  of 
the  besiegers.  At  length  the  citizens  capture  the 
brother  of  the  duke's  general,  and  the  besiegers  cap- 
ture the  tall  knight,  who  turns  out  to  be  no  knight 
after  all,  but  just  a  plebeian  hosier.  The  duke's  gen- 
eral is  on  the  point  of  ordering  the  tradesman  who 
has  made  so  much  trouble  to  be  shot,  but  the  latter 
still  remains  master  of  the  situation ;  for,  as  he  dryly 
observes,  if  any  harm  comes  to  him,  the  enraged  citi- 
zens will  hang  the  general's  brother.  Some  parley 
ensues,  in  which  the  shrewd  hosier  promises  for  the 
townsfolk  to  set  free  their  prisoner  and  pay  a  round 


2  TAXATION  AND   GOVERNMENT. 

sum  of  money  if  the  besieging  army  will  depart  and 
leave  them  in  peace.  The  offer  is  accepted,  and  so 
the  matter  is  amicably  settled.  As  the  worthy  citizen 
is  about  to  take  his  leave,  the  general  ventures  a  word 
of  inquiry  as  to  the  cause  of  the  town's  revolt.  "  What, 
then,  is  your  grievance,  my  good  friend  ?  "  Our  ho- 
"Too  much  si®^'  hiiight,  though  deft  with  needle  and 
taxes."  keen  with  lance,  has  a  stammering  tongue. 
He  answers :  "  Tuta  —  tuta  —  tuta  —  tuta  —  too  much 
taxes !  " 

"  Too  much  taxes : "  those  three  little  words  fur- 
nish us  with  a  clue  wherewith  to  understand  and  ex- 
plain a  great  deal  of  history.  A  great  many  sieges 
of  towns,  so  horrid  to  have  endured  though  so  pictur- 
esque to  read  about,  hundreds  of  weary  marches  and 
deadly  battles,  thousands  of  romantic  plots  that  have 
led  their  inventors  to  the  scaffold,  have  owed  their 
origin  to  questions  of  taxation.  The  issue  between 
the  ducal  commander  and  the  wai-like  tradesman  has 
been  tried  over  and  over  again  in  every  country  and 
in  every  age,  and  not  always  has  the  oppressor  been 
so  speedily  thwarted  and  got  rid  of.  The  questions  as 
to  how  much  the  taxes  shall  be,  and  who  is  to  decide 
how  much  they  shall  be,  ,are  always  and  in  every  stage 
of  society  questions  of  most  fundamental  importance. 
And  ever  since  men  began  to  make  history,  a  very 
large  part  of  what  they  have  done,  in  the  way  of 
making  history,  has  been  the  attempt  to  settle  these 
questions,  whether  by  discussion  or  by  blows,  whether 
in  council  chambers  or  on  the  battlefield.  The  French 
Revolution  of  1789,  the  most  terrible  political  convul- 
sion of  modern  times,  was  caused  chiefly  by  "  too 
much  taxes,"  and  by  the  fact  that  tlie  people  who  paid 
the  taxes  were  not  the  people  who  decided  what  the 
taxes  were  to  be.     Our  own  Revolution,  which  made 


TAXATION  AND    GOVERNMENT.  3 

the  United  States  a  nation  independent  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, was  brought  on  by  the  disputed  question  as  to 
who  was  to  decide  what  taxes  American  citizens  must 
pay. 

What,  then,  are  taxes?  The  question  is  one  which 
is  apt  to  come  up,  sooner  or  later,  to  puzzle  children. 
They  find  no  difficulty  in  understanding  the  butcher's 
bill  for  so  many  pounds  of  meat,  or  the  tailor's  bill 
for  so  many  suits  of  clothes,  where  the  value  received 
is  something  that  can  be  seen  and  handled.  But  the 
tax  bill,  though  it  comes  as  inevitably  as  the  ^^at  is  tax- 
autumnal  frosts,  bears  no  such  obvious  rela-  ^*'°°  ^ 
tion  to  the  incidents  of  domestic  life  ;  it  is  not  quite 
so  clear  what  the  money  goes  for  ;  and  hence  it  is  apt 
to  be  paid  by  the  head  of  the  household  with  more  or 
less  grumbling,  while  for  the  younger  members  of  the 
family  it  requires  some  explanation. 

It  only  needs  to  be  pointed  out,  however,  that  in 
every  town  some  things  are  done  for  the  benefit  of  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  things  which  concern  one 
person  just  as  much  as  another.  Thus  roads  are  made 
and  kept  in  repair,  school-houses  are  built  and  salaries 
paid  to  school-teachers,  there  are  constables  who  take 
criminals  to  jail,  there  are  engines  for  putting  out 
fires,  there  are  public  libraries,  town  cemeteries,  and 
poor-houses.  Money  raised  for  these  purposes,  which 
are  supposed  to  concern  all  the  inhabitants,  is  sup- 
posed to  be  paid  by  all  the  inhabitants,  each  one  fur- 
nishing his  share  ;  and  the  share  which  each  one  jjays 
is  his  town  tax. 

From  this  illustration  it  would  appear  that  taxes 
are  private  property  taken  for  public  purposes ;  and 
in  making  this  statement  we  come  very  near  the  truth. 
Taxes  are  portions  of  private  property  which  a  gov- 
ernment takes  for  its  public  purposes.     Before  going 


4  TAXATION  AND   GOVERNMENT. 

farther,  let  us  pause  to  observe  that  there  is  one  other 
way,  besides  taxation,  in  which  government 

Taxation  and  .  ,  •  ,       /»  it 

eminent  do-  sometiuies  takes  private  property  tor  public 
purposes.  Roads  and  streets  are  of  great 
importance  to  the  general  public  ;  and  the  government 
of  the  town  or  city  in  which  you  live  may  see  fit,  in 
opening  a  new  street,  to  run  it  across  your  garden,  or 
to  make  you  move  your  house  or  shop  out  of  the  way 
for  it.  In  so  doing,  the  government  either  takes  away 
or  damages  some  of  your  property.  It  exercises  rights 
over  your  property  without  asking  your  permission. 
This  power  of  government  over  private  property  is 
called  "  the  right  of  eminent  domain."  It  means  that 
a  man's  private  interests  must  not  be  allowed  to  ob- 
struct the  interests  of  the  whole  community  in  which 
he  lives.  But  in  two  ways  the  exercise  of  eminent 
domain  is  unlike  taxation.  In  the  first  place,  it  is 
only  occasional,  and  affects  only  certain  persons  here 
or  there,  whereas  taxation  goes  on  pei-petually  and 
affects  all  persons  who  own  property.  In  the  second 
place,  when  the  government  takes  away  a  piece  of 
your  land  to  make  a  road,  it  pays  you  money  in 
return  for  it ;  perhaps  not  quite  so  much  as  you  believe 
the  piece  of  land  was  worth  in  the  market ;  the  aver- 
age human  nature  is  doubtless  such  that  men  seldom 
give  fair  measure  for  measure  unless  they  feel  com- 
pelled to,  and  it  is  not  easy  to  put  a  government  un- 
der compulsion.  Still  it  gives  you  something ;  it  does 
not  ask  you  to  part  with  your  property  for  nothing. 
Now  in  the  case  of  taxation,  the  government  takes 
your  money  and  seems  to  make  no  return  to  3^011  indi- 
vidually ;  but  it  is  supposed  to  return  to  you  the  value 
of  it  in  the  shape  of  well-paved  streets,  good  schools, 
efficient  protection  against  criminals,  and  so  forth. 
In  giving  this  brief  preliminary  definition  of  taxes 


TAXATION  AND   GOVERNMENT.  5 

and  taxation,  we  have  already  begun  to  speak  of  "  the 
government  "  of  the  town  or  city  in  which  you  live. 
We  shall  presently  have  to  speak  of  other  "  govern- 
ments," —  as  the  government  of  your  state  and  the 
government  of  the  United  States ;  and  we  shall  now 
and  then  have  occasion  to  allude  to  the  eov-  _ 

°  Wliat  is 

ernments  of  other  countries  m  which  the  peo-  govem- 

meut  ? 

pie  are  free,  as,  for  example,  England ;  and 
of  some  countries  in  which  the  people  are  not  free,  as, 
for  example,  Russia.  It  is  desirable,  therefore,  that 
we  should  here  at  the  start  make  sure  what  we  mean 
by  "government,"  in  order  that  we  may  have  a  clear 
idea  of  what  we  are  talking  about. 

Our  verb  "  to  govern  "  is  an  Old  French  word,  one 
of  the  great  host  of  French  words  which  became  a 
part  of  the  English  language  between  the  eleventh 
and  fourteenth  centuries,  when  so  much  French  was 
spoken  in  England.  The  French  word  was  gouverner, 
and  its  oldest  form  was  the  Latin  gubernare,  a  word 
which  the  Romans  borrowed  from  the  Greek,  and 
meant  originally  "  to  steer  the  ship."  Hence  it  very 
naturally  came  to  mean  "  to  guide,"  "  to  direct,"  "  to 
command."  The  comparison  between  governing  and 
steering  was  a  happy  one.  To  govern  is  not  to  com- 
mand as  a  master  commands  a  slave,  but  it  is  to  issue 
orders  and  give  directions  for  the  common  good  ;  for 
the  interests  of  the  man  at  the  helm  are  the  same  as 
those  of  the  people  in  the  ship.  All  must  The "  ship 
float  or  sink  together.  Hence  we  sometimes  "^  state." 
speak  of  the  "  ship  of  state,"  and  we  often  call  the 
state  a  "  commonwealth,"  or  something  in  the  weal  or 
welfare  of  which  all  the  people  are  alike  interested. 

Government,  then,  is  the  directing  or  managing  of 
such  affairs  as  concern  all  the  people  alike,  —  as,  for 
example,  the  punishment  of    criminals,   the  enforce- 


6  TAXATION  AND   GOVERNMENT. 

meut  of  contracts,  the  defence  against  foreign  enemies, 
the  maintenance  of  roads  and  bridges,  and  so  on.  To 
the  directing  or  managing  of  such  affairs  all  the  jjeo- 
ple  are  expected  to  contribute,  each  according  to  his 
ability,  in  the  shape  of  taxes.  Government  is  some- 
thing which  is  supported  by  the  people  and  kept  alive 
by  taxation.  There  is  no  other  way  of  keeping  it 
alive. 

The  business  of  carrying  on  government  —  of  steer- 
ing the  ship  of  state  —  eitiier  requires  some  special 
training,  or  absorbs  all  the  time  and  attention  of 
those  who  carry  it  on ;  and  accordingly,  in  all  coun- 
tries, certain  persons  or  groups  of  persons  are  se- 
lected or  in  some  way  set  apart,  for  longer  or  shorter 
periods  of  time,  to  perform  the  work  of  government. 
Such  persons  may  be  a  king  with  his  council,  as  in  the 
England  of  the  twelfth  century ;  or  a  pai4iament  led 
by  a  responsible  ministiy,  as  in  the  England  of  to-day ; 
or  a  president  and  two  houses  of  congress,  as  in  the 
United  States ;  or  a  board  of  selectmen,  as  in  a  New 
England  town.  When  we  speak  of  "a  government" 
"The gov-  or  "the  government,"  we  often  mean  the 
eminent."  gyouj)  of  pcrsous  thus  sct  apart  for  carrying- 
on  the  work  of  government.  Thus,  by  "•  the  Glad- 
stone government"  we  mean  Mr.  Gladstone,  with  his 
colleagues  in  the  cabinet  and  his  Liberal  majority  in 
the  House  of  Commons ;  and  by  "  the  Lincoln  gov- 
ernment," properly  speaking,  was  meant  President 
Lincoln,  with  the  Republican  majorities  in  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives. 

"  The  government "  has  always  many  things  to  do, 
and  there  are  many  different  lights  in  which  we  might 
regard  it.  But  for  the  present  there  is  one  thing 
which  we  need  especially  to  keep  in  mind.  "  The 
government  "  is  the  ])ower  which  can  rightfully  take 


TAXATION  AND  GOVERNMENT.  7 

away  a  part  of  your  property,  in  the  shape  of  taxes, 
to  be  used  for  public  purposes.  A  government  is  not 
worthy  of  the  name,  and  cannot  long  be  kept  in  exist- 
ence, unless  it  can  raise  money  by  taxation,  whatever 
and  use  force,  if  necessary,  in  collecting  its  beT'-ti^*^ 
taxes.  The  only  general  government  of  the  u,enT"  is 
United  States  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  "bic^"^*"" 
and  for  six  j^ears  after  its  close,  was  the  Con-  ^^^^ 
tinental  Congress,  which  had  no  authority  to  raise 
money  by  taxation.  In  order  to  feed  and  clothe  the 
army  and  pay  its  officers  and  soldiers,  it  was  obliged 
to  ash  for  money  from  the  several  states,  and  hardly 
ever  got  as  much  as  was  needed.  It  was  obliged  to 
borrow  millions  of  dollars  from  France  and  Holland, 
and  to  issue  promissory  notes  which  soon  became 
wortliless.  After  the  war  was  over  it  became  clear 
that  this  so-called  government  could  neither  preserve 
order  nor  pay  its  debts,  and  accordingly  it  ceased  to 
be  respected  either  at  home  or  abroad,  and  it  became 
necessary  for  the  American  people  to  adopt  a  new 
form  of  government.  Between  the  old  Continental 
Congress  and  the  government  under  which  we  have 
lived  since  1789,  the  differences  were  many ;  but  by 
far  the  most  essential  difference  was  that  the  new  gov- 
ernment could  raise  money  by  taxation,  and  was  thus 
enabled  properly  to  carry  on  the  work  of  governing. 

If  we  are  in  any  doubt  as  to  what  is  really  the 
government  of  some  particular  country,  we  cannot  do 
better  than  observe  what  person  or  persons  in  that 
country  are  clothed  with  authority  to  tax  the  people. 
Mere  names,  as  customarily  applied  to  governments, 
are  apt  to  be  deceptive.  Thus  in  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  France  and  England  were  both 
called  *■'  kingdoms  ;  "  but  so  far  as  kingly  power  was 
concerned,  Louis  XV.  was  a  very  different  sort  of  a 


8  TAXATION  AND   GOVERNMENT. 

king  from  George  II.  The  French  king  could  impose 
taxes  on  his  people,  and  it  might  therefore  be  truly 
said  that  the  government  of  France  was  in  the  king. 
Indeed,  it  was  Louis  XV.'s  immediate  predecessor  who 
made  the  famous  remark,  "  The  state  is  myself."  But 
the  English  king  could  not  impose  taxes  ;  the  only 
power  in  England  that  could  do  that  was  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  accordingly  it  is  correct  to  say  that  in 
England,  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  speaking,  the 
government  was  (as  it  still  is)  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. 

I  say,  then,  the  most  essential  feature  of  a  govern- 
ment —  or  at  any  rate  the  feature  with  which  it  is 
most  important  for  us  to  become  familiar  at  the  start 
—  is  its  power  of  taxation.  The  government  is  that 
Difference  whicli  taxcs.  If  individuals  take  away  some 
taxruou  of  your  property  for  purposes  of  their  own, 
and  robbery.  -^^  jg  robbery ;  you  lose  your  money  and  get 
nothing  in  return.  But  if  the  government  takes  away 
some  of  your  property  in  the  shape  of  taxes,  it  is  sup- 
posed to  render  to  you  an  equivalent  in  the  shape  of 
good  government,  something  without  which  our  lives 
and  property  would  not  be  safe.  Herein  seems  to  lie 
the  difference  between  taxation  and  robbery.  When 
the  highwayman  points  his  pistol  at  me  and  I  hand 
him  my  purse  and  watch,  I  am  robbed.  But  when  I 
pay  the  tax-collector,  who  can  seize  my  watch  or  sell 
my  house  over  my  head  if  I  refuse,  I  am  simply  pay- 
ing what  is  fairly  due  from  me  toward  supporting  the 
government. 

In  what  we  have  been  saying  it  has  thus  far  been 
assumed  that  the  government  is  in  the  hands  of  up- 
right and  competent  men  and  is  properly  administered. 
It  is  now  time  to  observe  that  robbery  may  be  com- 
mitted by  governments  as  well  as  by  individuals.     If 


• 


TAXATION  AND   GOVERNMENT.  9 

the  business  of  governing  is  placed  in  the  hands  of 
men  who  have  an  imperfect  sense  of  their  duty  toward 
the  pubHc,  if  such  men  raise  money  by  taxa- 

,     T  1      •  1  Sometimes 

tion  and  then  spend  it  on  their  own  pleas-  taxation « 

1      .  T   '      ^     •    n  robbery. 

ures,  or  to  increase  their  political  iniluence, 
or  for  other  illegitimate  purposes,  it  is  really  robbery, 
just  as  much  as  if  these  men  were  to  stand  with  pis- 
tols by  the  roadside  and  empty  the  wallets  of  peojDle 
passing  by.  They  make  a  dishonest  use  of  their  high 
position  as  members  of  government,  and  extort  money 
for  which  they  make  no  return  in  the  shape  of  ser- 
vices to  the  public.  History  is  full  of  such  lament- 
able instances  of  misgovernment,  and  one  of  the  most 
important  uses  of  the  study  of  history  is  to  teach  us 
how  they  have  occurred,  in  order  that  we  may  learn 
how  to  avoid  them,  as  far  as  possible,  in  the  future. 

When  we  begin  in  childhood  the  study  of  history 
we  are  attracted  chiefly  by  anecdotes  of  heroes  and 
their  battles,  kings  and  their  courts,  how  the  T,,g  ^^^^^ 
Spartans  fought  at  Thermopylae,  how  Alfred  °^  '"story. 
let  the  cakes  burn,  how  Henry  VIII.  beheaded  his 
wives,  how  Louis  XIV.  used  to  live  at  Versailles.  It 
is  quite  right  that  we  should  be  interested  in  such  per- 
sonal details,  the  more  so  the  better  ;  for  history  has 
been  made  by  individual  men  and  women,  and  until 
we  have  understood  the  character  of  a  great  many  of 
those  who  have  gone  before  us,  and  how  they  thought 
and  felt  in  their  time,  we  have  hardly  made  a  fair 
beginning  in  the  study  of  history.  The  greatest  his- 
torians, such  as  Freeman  and  Mommsen,  show  as 
lively  an  interest  in  persons  as  in  principles ;  and  I 
would  not  give  much  for  the  historical  theories  of  a 
man  who  should  declare  himself  indifferent  to  little 
personal  details. 

Some  people,  however,   never  outgrow  the   child's 


10  TAXATION  AND   GOVERNMENT. 

notion  of  history  as  merely  a  mass  of  pretty  anec- 
dotes or  stupid  annals,  mtliout  any  practical  bearing 
upon  our  own  every-day  life.  There  could  not  be  a 
greater  mistake.  Very  little  has  happened  in  the 
past    which  has    not  some  immediate  prac- 

It  is  full  of       ^.       ,   ,  „  ,        ,  1       ,  . 

practical  tical  Icssous  lor  US  ;  and  when  we  study  his- 
tory in  order  to  profit  by  the  expei'ience  of 
our  ancestors,  to  find  out  wherein  they  succeeded  and 
wherein  they  failed,  in  order  that  we  may  emulate 
their  success  and  avoid  their  errors,  then  history  be- 
comes the  noblest  and  most  valuable  of  studies.  It 
then  becomes,  moreover,  an  arduous  pursuit,  at  once 
oppressive  and  fascinating  from  its  endless  wealth  of 
material,  and  abounding  in  problems  which  the  most 
diligent  student  can  never  hope  completely  to  solve. 

Few  people  have  the  leisure  to  undertake  a  syste- 
matic and  thorough  study  of  history,  but  every  one 
ought  to  find  time  to  learn  the  principal  features  of 
the  governments  under  which  we  live,  and  to  get  some 
inkling  of  the  way  in  which  these  governments  have 
come  into  existence  and  of  the  causes  which  have 
made    them    what    they    are.       Some    such 

and  helpful  .  c  ,^  t 

to  tiiose  wiio  knowledc^e  is   necessary  tor  the  proper  dis- 

would  be  ^11.  c      •    •  T  •  -r.   T    •       1 

good  citi-       charge  oi  the  duties  oi  citizenship.    Jrolitical 

zens.  .  in  n 

questions,  great  and  small,  are  perpetually 
arising,  to  be  discussed  in  the  newspapers  and  voted 
on  at  the  polls  ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  every  man  and 
woman,  young  or  old,  to  try  to  understand  them. 
Thab  is  a  duty  whicli  we  owe,  each  and  all  of  us,  to 
ourselves  and  to  our  fellow-countrymen.  For  if  such 
questions  are  not  settled  in  accordance  with  knowledge, 
they  will  be  settled  in  accordance  with  ignorance  ;  and 
that  is  a  kind  of  settlement  likely  to  be  fraught  with 
results  disastrous  to  everybody.  It  cannot  be  too  often 
repeated    that    et(!rnal    vigilance  is  the  price  of  lib- 


TAXATION  AND   GOVERNMENT.  11 

erty.     People    sometimes    argiie  as    if   they  supposed 
that  because  our  national  government  is  called  a  re- 
public and  not  a  monarchy,  and  because  we   Eternal 
have  free    schools    and   universal    suffrage,   the'pr'iceof 
therefore  our   liberties   are  forever    secure,   ^^^^^y- 
Our  government  is,  indeed,  in  most  respects,  a  marvel 
of  political  skill ;  and   in  ordinary  times   it   runs   so 
smoothly  that  now  and  then,  absorbed  as  most  of  us 
are  in  domestic  cares,  we  are  apt  to  forget  that  it  will 
not  run  of  itself.     To  insure  that  the  government  of 
the  nation  or  the  state,  of  the  city  or  the  township,  shall 
be  properly  administered,  requires  from  every  citizen 
the  utmost  watchfulness  and  intelligence  of  which  he 
is  capable. 

QUESTIONS    ON    THE    TEXT. 

To  the  teacher.  Encourage  full  answers.  Do  not  permit  any- 
thing like  committing  the  text  to  memory.  In  the  long  run  the 
pupil  who  relies  upon  his  own  language,  however  inferior  it  may 
be  to  that  of  the  text,  is  better  off.  Naturally,  with  thoughtful 
study,  the  pupil's  language  will  feel  the  intiuence  of  that  of  the 
text,  and  so  improve.  The  important  thing  in  any  answer  is 
the  fundamental  thought.  This  idea  once  grasped,  the  expres- 
sion of  it  may  receive  some  attention.  The  expression  will  often 
be  broken  and  faulty,  partly  because  of  the  immaturity  of  the 
pupil,  and  partly  because  of  the  newness  and  difficulty  of  the 
theme.  Do  not  let  the  endeavour  to  secure  excellent  expression 
check  a  certain  freedom  and  spontaneity  that  should  be  encour- 
aged in  the  pupil.  When  the  teacher  desires  to  place  special 
stress  on  excellent  presentation,  it  is  wise  to  assign  topics  before- 
hand, so  that  each  pupil  may  know  definitely  what  is  expected 
of  him,  and  prepare  himself  accordingly. 

1 .  Tell  the  story  that  introduces  the  chapter. 

2.  What  lesson  is  it  designed  to  teach  ? 

3.  What  caused  the  French  Revolution  ? 

4.  What  caused  the  American  Revolution  ? 

5.  Compare  the  tax  bill  with  that  of  the  butcher  or  tailor. 

6.  What  are  taxes  raised  for  in  a  town  ?     For  whose  benefit  ? 

7.  Define  t.axes. 


12  TAXATION  AND   GOVERNMENT. 

8.  Define  the  right  of  eminent  domain. 

9.  Distinguish  between  taxes  and  the  right  of  eminent  domain. 

10.  Wliat  is  the  origin  of  the  word  "  govern  "  ? 

11.  Define  government. 

1 2.  By  whom  is  it  supported,  how  is  it  kept  alive,  and  by  whom 

is  it  carried  on  ? 

13.  Give  illustrations  of  governments. 

14.  What  one  power  must  government  have  to  be  worthy  of  the 

name  ? 

15.  What  was  the  principal  weakness  of  the  government  during 

the  American  Revolution  ? 

16.  Compare  this   government  with  that  of  the   United  States 

since  1789. 

1 7.  If  it  is  doubtful  what  the  real  government  of  a  country  is, 

how  may  the  doubt  be  settled  ? 

18.  Illustrate  by  reference  to  France  and  England  in  the  eigh- 

teenth century. 

19.  What  is  the  difference  between  taxation  and  robbery  ? 

20.  Under  what  conditions  may  taxation  become  robbery  ? 

21.  To  what  <are  we  easily  attracted  in  our  first  study  of  history  ? 

22.  What  ought  to  be  learned  from  history  ? 

23.  What  sort  of  knowledge  is  helpful  in  discharging  the  duties 

of  citizenship  ? 

24.  Show  how  "  eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty." 

SUGGESTIVE    QUESTIONS    AND   DIRECTIONS. 

To  the  teacher.  The  object  of  this  series  of  questions  and 
suggestions  is  to  stimulate  reading,  investigating,  and  thinking. 
It  is  not  expected,  indeed  it  is  hardly  possible,  that  each  pupil 
shall  respond  to  them  all.  A  single  question  may  cost  prolonged 
study.  Assign  the  numbers,  therefore,  to  individuals  to  report 
upon  at  a  subsequent  recitation,  —  one  or  more  to  each  pupil, 
according  to  the  difficulty  of  the  numbers.  Reserve  some  for 
class  consideration  or  discussion.  Now  and  then  let  the  teacher 
answer  a  question  himself,  partly  to  furnish  the  pupils  with  good 
examples  of  answers,  and  partly  to  insure  attention  to  matters 
that  might  otherwise  escape  notice. 

1 .  Are  tliere  people  who  receive  no  benefit  from  tlieir  payment 

of  taxes  ? 

2.  Are  the  benefits  received  by  people  in  proportion   to  the 

amounts  paid  by  them  ? 


TAXATION  AND   GOVERNMENT.  13 

3.  Show  somewhat  fully  what  taxes  had  to  do  with  the  French 

Revolution. 

4.  Show  somewhat  fully  what  taxes  had  to  with  the  American 

Revolution. 

5.  Give  illustrations  of  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  eminent 

domain  in  your  own  town  or  county  or  state. 

6.  Do  railroad  corporations  exercise   such  a  right  ?     How  do 

they  succeed  in  getting  land  for  their  tracks  ? 

7.  In  case  of  disagreement,  how  is  a  fair  price  determined  for 

property  taken  by  eminent  domain  ? 

8.  What  persons  are  prominent  to-day  in  the  government  of 

your  own  town  or  city  ?  Of  your  own  county  ?  Of  your 
own  state  ?     Of  the  United  States  ? 

9.  Who  constitute  the  government  of  the  school  to  which  you 

belong  ?  Does  this  question  admit  of  more  than  one 
answer  ?  Has  the  government  of  your  school  any  power 
to  tax  the  people  to  sujiport  the  school  ? 

10.  What  is  the  difFerence  between  a  state  and  the  government 

of  a  state  ? 

11.  Which  is  the  more  powerful  branch  of  the  English  Parlia- 

ment ?     Why  ? 

12.  Is  it  a  misuse  of  the  funds  of  a  city  to  provide   entertain- 

ments for  the  people  July  4  ?  To  expend  money  in  en- 
tertaining distinguished  guests  ?  To  provide  flowers? 
carriages,  cigars,  wines,  etc.,  for  such  guests  ? 

13.  What  is  meant  by  subordinating  public  office    to   private 

ends  ?     Cite  instances  from  history. 

14.  What  histories  have  you  read  ?     What  one  of  them,  if  any, 

would  you  call  a  "  child's  history,"  or  a  "  drum  and  trum- 
pet" history?  What  one  of  them,  if  any,  has  impressed 
any  lessons  upon  you  ? 

15.  Mention  some  principles  that  history  has  taught  you. 

16.  Mention  a  few  offices,  and  tell  the  sort  of  intelligence  that  is 

needed  by  the  persons  who  hold  them.  What  results 
might  follow  if  such  intelligence  were  lacking  ? 


14.  TAXATION  AND   GOVERN AJENT. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE. 


It  Is  designed  in  the  bibliogiaphical  notes  to  indicate  some  au- 
thorities to  which  reference  may  be  made  for  greater  detail  than 
is  possible  in  an  elementary  work  like  the  present.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  the  notes  will  prove  a  help  to  teacher  and  pupil  in 
special  investigations,  and  to  the  reader  who  may  wish  to  make 
selections  from  excellent  sources  for  purposes  of  self-culture. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  it  is  sometimes  worth  much 
to  the  student  to  know  where  valuable  information  may  be  ob- 
tained, even  when  it  is  not  practicable  to  make  immediate  use 
of  it. 

Certain  books  should  always  be  at  the  teacher's  desk  during 
the  instruction  in  civil  government,  and  as  easily  accessible  as 
the  large  dictionary ;  as,  for  instance,  the  following  :  The  Gen- 
eral Statutes  of  the  state,  the  manual  or  blue-book  of  the  state 
legislature,  and,  if  the  school  is  in  a  city,  the  city  charter  and 
ordinances.  It  is  also  desirable  to  add  to  this  list  the  statutes  of 
the  United  States  and  a  manual  of  Congress  or  of  the  general 
government.  Manuals  may  be  obtained  through  representatives 
in  the  state  legislature  and  in  Congress.  They  will  answer  nearly 
every  purpose  if  they  are  not  of  the  latest  issue.  The  States- 
man's Year  Book,  published  by  Macmillan  &  Co.,  New  York, 
every  year,  is  exceedingly  valuable  for  reference.  Certain  al- 
manacs, particularly  the  comprehensive  ones  issued  by  the  New 
York  Tribune  and  the  New  York  World,  are  rich  in  state  and 
national  statistics,  and  so  inexpensive  as  to  be  within  everybody's 
means. 

Taxation  and  Government.  —  As  to  the  causes  of  the 
American  revolution,  see  my  War  of  Independence,  Boston, 
1889  ;  and  as  to  the  weakness  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States  before  1780,  see  my  Critical  Period  of  American  History, 
Boston,  1888.  As  to  the  causes  of  the  French  revolution,  see 
Paul  Lacombe,  The  Growth  of  a  People,  N.  Y.,  1883,  and  the 
third  volume  of  Kitchin's  History  of  France,  London,  1887  ;  also 
Morse  Stephens,  The  French  Revolution,  vol.  i.,  N.  Y.,  1887  ; 
Taine,  The  Ancient  Re'gime,  N.  Y.,  187G,  and  The  Revolution,  2 
vols.,  N.  Y.,  1880.  The  student  may  read  with  pleasure  and 
profit  Dickens's  Tale  of  Two   Cities.     For  the   student  familiar 


TAXATION  AND   GOVERNMENT.  15 

with  Freuch,  an  excellent  book  is  Albert  Babeau,  Le  Village  sous 
Vancien  Regime,  Paris,  1879  ;  see  also  Tocqueville,  L'ancien  Regime 
et  la  Revolution,  7th  ed.,  Paris,  1866.  There  is  a  good  sketch  of 
the  causes  of  the  French  revolution  in  the  fifth  volume  of 
Lecky's  History  of  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  N.  Y.,  1887  ; 
see  also  Buckle's  History  of  Civilization,  chaps,  xii.-xiv.  There  is 
no  better  commentary  on  my  first  chapter  than  the  lurid  history 
of  France  in  tlie  eighteenth  century.  The  strong  contrast  to 
English  and  American  history  shows  us  most  instructively  what 
we  have  thus  far  escaped. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   TOWNSHIP. 

§  1.   The  New  England  Township. 

Of  the  various  kinds  of  governmeut  to  be  found  in 
the  United  States,  we  may  begin  by  considering  that 
of  the  New  England  township.  As  we  shall  presently 
see,  it  is  in  principle  of  all  known  forms  of  govern- 
ment the  oldest  as  well  as  the  simplest.  Let  us  ob- 
serve how  the  New  England  township  grew  up. 

When  people  from  England  first  came  to  dwell  in 
the  wilderness  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  they  settled  in 
groups  upon  small  irregular-shaped  patches  of  land, 
which  soon  came  to  be  known  as  townships.  There 
were  several  reasons  why  they  settled  thus  in  small 
groups,  instead  of  scattering  about  over  the  country 
and  carving  out  broad  estates  for  themselves.  In  the 
first  place,  their  principal  reason  for  coming 

New  Eng-  i^  '  ^  ^  .  .  .    „         . 

land  was        to    Ncw  England    was    their   dissatisfaction 

settle.l  by  •   ^        ^  •  i  .  ,  ™    . 

ohurcii  con-  With  the  way  in  which  church  aiiairs  were 
managed  in  the  old  country.  They  wished 
to  bring  about  a  reform  in  the  church,  in  such  wise 
that  the  members  of  a  congregation  should  have  more 
voice  than  formerly  in  the  church-government,  and 
that  the  minister  of  each  congregation  should  be  more 
independent  than  formerly  of  the  bishop  and  of  the 
civil  government.  They  also  wished  to  abolish  sun- 
dry rites  and  customs  of  the  church   of  which  they 


THE   NEW  ENGLAND    TOWNSHIP.  17 

had  come  to  disapprove.  Finding  the  resistance  to 
their  reforms  quite  formidable  in  England,  and  having 
some  reason  to  fear  that  they  might  be  themselves 
crushed  in  the  struggle,  they  crossed  the  ocean  in 
order  to  carry  out  their  ideas  in  a  new  and  remote 
country  where  they  might  be  comparatively  secure 
from  interference.  Hence  it  was  quite  natural  that 
they  should  come  in  congregations,  led  by  their  favour- 
ite ministers,  - —  such  men,  for  example,  as  Higginson 
and  Cotton,  Hooker  and  Davenport.  When  such 
men,  famous  in  England  for  their  bold  preaching  and 
imperilled  thereby,  decided  to  move  to  America,  a 
considerable  number  of  their  parishioners  would  de- 
cide to  accompany  them,  and  similarly  minded  members 
of  neighbouring  churches  would  leave  their  own  pastor 
and  join  in  the  migration.  Such  a  group  of  people, 
arriving  on  the  coast  of  Massachusetts,  would  natu- 
rally select  some  convenient  locality,  where  they  might 
build  their  houses  near  together  and  all  go  to  the  same 
church. 

This  migration,  therefore,  was  a  movement,  not  of 
individuals  or  of  separate  families,  but  of  church- 
congregations,  and  it  continued  to  be  so  as  the  settlers 
made  their  way  inland  and  westward.  The  first  river 
towns  of  Connecticut  were  founded  by  congregations 
coming  from  Dorchester,  Cambridge,  and  Watertown. 
This  kind  of  settlement  was  favoured  by  the  govern- 
ment of  Massachusetts,  which  made  grants 
of  land,  not  to  individuals  but  to  companies 
of  people  who  wished  to  live  together  and  attend  the 
same  church. 

In  the  second  place,  the  soil  of  New  England  was 
not  favourable  to  the  cultivation  of  great  quantities  of 
staple  articles,  such  as  rice  or  tobacco,  so  that  there 
was   nothing   to    tempt   people    to    undertake    exteu- 


18  THE    TOWNSHIP. 

sive  plantations.     Most  of  tlie  people  lived  on  small 

farms,  each  family  raising  bnt  little  more  than  enough 

food  for  its  own  sui^port ;  and  the  small  size 

Small  farms.        c     ^        p  i      •  'i  i 

of  the  farms  made  it  possible  to  have  a  good 
many  in  a  compact  neighbourhood.  It  appeared  also 
that  towns  could  be  more  easily  defended  against  the 
Indians  than  scattered  plantations  ;  and  this  doubtless 
helped  to  keep  people  together,  although  if  there  had 
been  any  strong  inducement  for  solitary  pioneers  to 
plunge  into  the  great  woods,  as  in  later  years  so  often 
hapjiened  at  the  West,  it  is  not  likely  that  any  dread 
of  the  savages  would  have  hindered  them. 

Thus  the  early  settlers  of  New  England  came  to 
live  in  townships.  A  township  would  consist  of  about 
as  many  farms  as  could  be  disposed  within  convenient 
distance  from  the  meeting-house,  where  all  the  inhab- 
tants,  young  and  old,  gathered  every  Sunday,  coming 
on  horseback  or  afoot.  The  meeting-house  was  thus 
Townsiiip  centrally  situated,  and  near  it  was  the  town 
and  village,  pasture  or  "  commou,"  with  the  school-house 
and  the  block-house,  or  rude  fortress  for  defence 
against  the  Indians.  For  the  latter  building  some 
commanding  position  was  apt  to  be  selected,  and  hence 
we  so  often  find  the  old  village  streets  of  New  Eng- 
land running  along  elevated  ridges  or  climbing  over 
beetling  hilltops.  Around  the  meeting-house  and 
common  the  dwellings  gradually  clustered  into  a  vil- 
lage, and  after  a  while  the  tavern,  store,  and  town- 
house  made  their  appearance. 

Among  the  people  who  thus  tilled  the  farms  and 
built  up  the  villages  of  New  England,  the  differences 
in  what  we  should  call  social  position,  though  notice- 
able, were  not  extreme.  While  in  England  some  had 
been  esquires  or  country  magistrates,  or  "  lords  of  the 
manor,"  —  a  phrase  which  does  not  mean  a  member 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND    TOWNSHIP.  19 

of  the  peerage,  but  a  landed  proprietor  with  dependent 
tenants ;  ^  some  had  been  yeomen,  or  persons  holding- 
farms  by  some  free  kind  of   tenure  ;   some 
had   been    artisans   or  tradesmen    in  cities,   tiou  of  set- 
All  had  for  many  generations  been  more  or 
less  accustomed  to  self-government  and  to  public  meet- 
ings for  discussing  local   affairs.      That  self-govern- 
ment, especially  as  far  as  church  matters  were  con- 
cerned, they  were  stoutly  bent  upon  maintaining  and 
extending.     Indeed,  that  was  what  they  had  crossed 
the  ocean   for.     Under  these  circumstances  they  de- 
veloped a  kind  of  government  which  we  may  describe 
in  the  present  tense,  for  its  methods  are  pretty  much 
the  same  to-day  that  they  were  two  centuries  ago. 

In  a  New  England  township  the  people  directly 
govern  themselves  ;  the  government  is  the  people,  or, 
to  speak  with  entire  precision,  it  is  all  the  male  inhab- 
itants of  one-and-twenty  years  of  age  and  upwards. 
The  people  tax  themselves.  Once  each  year,  usually 
in  March  but  sometimes  as  early  as  February  or  as 
late  as  April,  a  "  town-meeting  "  is  held,  at  ^he  town- 
which  all  the  grown  men  of  the  township  are  '"'"'*■"&• 
expected  to  be  present  and  to  vote,  while  any  one  may 
introduce  motions  or  take  part  in  the  discussion.  In 
early  times  there  was  a  fine  for  non-attendance,  but 
that  is  no  longer  the  case  ;  it  is  supposed  that  a  due  re- 
gard to  his  own  interests  will  induce  every  man  to  come. 

The  town-meeting  is  held  in  the  town-house,  but  at 
first  it  used  to  be  held  in  the  church,  which  was  thus 
a  "  meeting-house  "  for  civil  as  well  as  ecclesiastical 
purposes.  At  the  town-meeting  measures  relating  to 
the  administration  of  town  affairs  are  discussed  and 
adopted  or  rejected ;  appropriations  are  made  for  the 
public  expenses  of  the  town,  or  in  other  words  the 
^  Compare  the  Scottisli  "laird." 


20  THE    TOWNSHIP. 

amount  of  the  town  taxes  for  the  year  is  determined  ; 
and  town  officers  are  elected  for  the  year.  Let  us  first 
enumerate  these  officers. 

The  principal  executive  magistrates  of  the  town  are 
the  selectmen.  They  are  three,  five,  seven,  or  nine  in 
number,  according  to  the  size  of  the  town  and  the 
amount  of  public  business  to  be  transacted.  The  odd 
number  insures  a  majority  decision  in  case  of  any 
difference  of  opinion  among  them.     They  have  the 

general  management  of  the  public  business. 

They  issue  warrants  for  the  holding  of  town- 
meetings,  and  they  can  call  such  a  meeting  at  any 
time  during  the  year  when  there  seems  to  be  need  for 
it,  but  the  warrant  must  always  specify  the  subjects 
which  are  to  be  discussed  and  acted  on  at  the  meeting. 
The  selectmen  also  lay  out  highways,  grant  licenses, 
and  impanel  jurors  ;  they  may  act  as  health  officers 
and  issue  orders  regarding  sewerage,  the  abatement  of 
nuisances,  or  the  isolation  of  contagious  diseases  ;  in 
many  cases  they  act  as  assessors  of  taxes,  and  as  over- 
seers of  the  poor.  They  are  the  proper  persons  to 
listen  to  complaints  if  anything  goes  wrong  in  the 
town.  In  county  matters  and  state  matters  they  speak 
for  the  town,  and  if  it  is  a  party  to  a  law-suit  they 
represent  it  in  court ;  for  the  New  England  town  is  a 
legal  corporation,  and  as  such  can  hold  property,  and 
sue  and  be  sued.  In  a  certain  sense  the  selectmen 
may  be  said  to  be  "  the  government "  of  the  town 
during:  the  intervals  between  the  town-meetinjjs. 

An  officer  no  less  important  than  the  selectmen  is 
the    town-clerk.     He   keeps    the    record    of  all  votes 

passed  in  the  town-meetin<;s.      lie  also  re- 

Towii-clerk. 

cords  the  names  of  candidates  and  the  num- 
ber of  votes  for  each  in  the  election  of  state  and 
county  officers.     He   records   the   births,  marriages, 


THE   NEW  ENGLAND    TOWNSHIP.  21 

and  deaths  in  the  township,  and  issues  certificates  to 
j3ersons  who  declare  an  intention  of  marriage.  He 
likewise  keeps  on  record  accurate  descriptions  of  the 
position  and  bounds  of  public  roads  ;  and,  in  short, 
has  general  charge  of  all  matters  of  town-record. 

Every  town  has  also  its  treasurer,  who  receives  and 
takes  care  of  the  money  coming  in  from  the  r^^^^, 
taxpayers,    or  whatever   money  belongs   to  ^'''^'■'^"'■e'"- 
the  town.     Out  of  this  money  he  pays  the  public  ex- 
penses.    He  must  keep  a  strict  account  of  his  receipts 
and  i^ayments,  and  make  a  report  of  them  each  year. 

Every  town  has  one  or  more  constables,  who  serve 
warrants  from  the  selectmen  and  writs  from 
the  law  courts.  They  pursue  criminals  and 
take  them  to  jail.  They  summon  jurors.  In  many 
towns  they  serve  as  collectors  of  taxes,  but  in  many 
other  towns  a  special  officer  is  chosen  for  that  pur- 
pose. When  a  person  fails  to  pay  his  taxes,  after  a 
specified  time  the  collector  has  authority  to  seize  upon 
his  property  and  sell  it  at  auction,  paying  the  tax  and 
costs  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale,  and  handing 
over  the  balance  to  the  owner.  In  some  cases,  where 
no  property  can  be  found  and  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  delinquent  is  not  acting  in  good  faith, 
he  can  be  arrested  and  kept  in  prison  until  the  tax 
and  costs  are  paid,  or  until  he  is  released  by  the 
proper  legal  methods. 

Where  the  duties  of  the  selectmen  are  likely  to  be 
too  numerous,  the  town  may  choose  three  or  Assessors  of 
more  assessors  of  taxes  to  prepare  the  tax  overseers^ of 
lists  ;  and  three  or  more  overseers  of  the  *^^  p""""" 
poor,  to  regulate  the  management  of  the  village  alms- 
house and  confer  with  other  towns  upon  such  ques- 
tions as  often  arise  concerning  the  settlement  and 
maintenance  of  homeless  paupers. 


22  THE   TOWNSHIP. 

Every  town  has  its  school  committee.  In  1647  the 
legislature  o£  Massachusetts  enacted  a  law  with  the 
following  preamble  :  "  It  being  one  chief  project  of 
Public  that  old  deluder,  Satan,  to  keep  men  from 

schools.  |.jjg  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  as  in  for- 
mer times  by  keeping  them  in  an  unknown  tongue,  so 
in  these  latter  times  by  persuading  from  the  use  of 
tongues,  that  so  at  least  the  true  sense  and  meaning 
of  the  original  might  be  clouded  and  corrupted  with 
false  glosses  of  deceivers  ;  to  the  end  that  learning 
may  not  be  buried  in  the  graves  of  our  forefathers, 
in  church  and  commonwealth,  the  Lord  assisting  our 
endeavours ; "  it  was  therefore  ordered  that  every 
township  containing  fifty  families  or  householders 
should  forthwith  set  up  a  school  in  which  children 
might  be  taught  to  read  and  write,  and  that  every 
township  containing  one  hundred  families  or  house- 
holders should  set  up  a  school  in  which  boys  might  be 
fitted  for  entering  Harvard  College.  Even  before  this 
statute,  several  towns,  as  for  instance  Roxbury  and 
Dedham,  had  begun  to  appropriate  money  for  free 
schools  ;  and  these  were  the  beginnings  of  a  system 
of  public  education  which  has  come  to  be  adopted 
throughout  the  United  States. 

The  school  committee  exercises  powers  of  such  a 
Sciiooi  character  as  to  make  it  a  body  of  great  im- 

committees.  portancc.  The  term  of  service  of  the  mem- 
bers is  three  years,  one  third  being  chosen  annually. 
The  number  of  members  must  therefore  be  some  mul- 
ti})le  of  three.  The  slow  change  in  the  membership 
of  the  board  insures  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
members  shall  always  be  familiar  with  the  duties  of 
tlie  place.  The  school  committee  must  visit  all  the 
public  schools  at  least  once  a  month,  and  make  a  re- 
port to  the  town  every  year.     It  is  for  them  to  decide 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND    TOWNSHIP.  23 

what  text-books  are  to  be  used.  They  examine  can- 
didates for  the  position  of  teacher  and  issue  certifi- 
cates to  those  whom  they  select.  The  certificate  is 
issued  in  duplicate,  and  one  copy  is  handed  to  the 
selectmen  as  a  warrant  that  the  teacher  is  entitled  to 
receive  a  salary.  Teachers  are  appointed  for  a  term 
of  one  year,  but  where  their  work  is  satisfactory  the 
appointments  are  usually  renewed  year  after  year.  A 
recent  act  in  Massachusetts  permits  the  appointment 
of  teachers  to  serve  during  good  behaviour,  but  few 
boards  have  as  yet  availed  themselves  of  this  law.  If 
the  amount  of  work  to  be  done  seems  to  require  it, 
the  committee  appoints  a  superintendent  of  schools. 
He  is  a  sort  of  lieutenant  of  the  school  committee,  and 
under  its  general  direction  carries  on  the  detailed 
work  of  supervision. 

Other  town  officers  are  the  surveyors  of  highways, 
who  are  responsible  for  keeping  the  roads  and  bridges 
in  repair  ;  field  -  drivers  and  pound-keepers  ;  fence- 
viewers  ;  surveyors  of  lumber,  measurers  of  wood, 
and  sealers  of  weights  and  measures. 

The  field-driver  takes  stray  animals  to  the  pound, 
and  then  notifies  their  owner  ;  or  if  he  does 

Field-drivers 

not  know  who  is  the  owner  he  posts  a  de-  and  pound- 

scription  of  the  animals  in  some  such  place 

as  the  village  store  or  tavern,  or  has  it  published  in 

the  nearest  country  newspaper.    Meanwhile  the  strays 

are  duly  fed  by  the  pound-keeper,  who  does  not  let 

them  out  of  his  custody  until  all  expenses  have  been 

paid. 

If    the   owners   of    contiguous  farms,    gardens,    or 
fields  get  into  a  dispute  about  their  partition  fences 
or  walls,  they  may  apply  to  one  of  the  fence-  Fp„ce- 
viewers,  of   whom  each  town  has  at  least  ^'^'^^"^^ 
two.    The  fence-viewer  decides  the  matter,  and  charges 


24  THE   TOWNSHIP. 

a  small  fee  for  his  services.  Where  it  is  necessary  he 
may  order  suitable  walls  or  fences  to  be  built. 

The  surveyors  of  lumber  measure  and  mark  lumber 
offered  for  sale.  The  measurers  of  wood  do  the  same 
Qtiigj.  for  firewood.     The  sealers  test  the  correct- 

officers,  j^ggg  y£  ^ygigi^^g  and  measures  used  in  trade, 
and  tradesmen  are  not  allowed  to  use  weights  and 
measures  that  have  not  been  thus  officially  examined 
and  sealed.  Measurers  and  sealers  may  be  apjjointed 
by  the  selectmen. 

Such  are  the  officers  always  to  be  found  in  the  Mas- 
sachusetts town,  except  where  the  duties  of  some  of 
them  are  discharged  by  the  selectmen.  Of  these  offi- 
cers, the  selectmen,  town-clerk,  treasurer,  constable, 
school  committee,  and  assessors  must  be  elected  by 
ballot  at  the  annual  town-meeting. 

When  this  meeting  is  to  be  called  the  selectmen 
issue  a  warrant  for  the  purpose,  specifying  the  time 
and  place  of  meeting  and  the  nature  of  the  business 
to  be  transacted.  The  constable  posts  copies  of  the 
warrant  in  divers  conspicuous  places  not  less  than  a 
week  before  the  time  appointed.    Then,  after 

Calling  the  /  ^  i  i       i 

town-meet-  making  a  note  upon  the  warrant  that  he  has 
duly  served  it,  he  hands  it  over  to  tlie  town- 
clerk.  On  the  appointed  day,  when  the  people  have 
assembled,  the  town-clerk  calls  the  meeting  to  order 
and  reads  the  warrant.  The  meeting  then  proceeds 
to  choose  by  ballot  its  presiding  officer,  or  "  modera- 
tor," and  business  goes  on  in  accordance  with  parlia- 
mentary customs  pretty  generally  recognized  among 
all  people  who  speak  English. 

At  tliis  meeting  the  amount  of  money  to  be  raised 
by  taxation  for  town  purjjoses  is  determined.  But,  as 
we  shall  see,  every  inhabitant  of  a  town  lives  not  only 
under  a  town  government,  but  also  under  a  county 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND    TOWNSHIP.  2o 

government  and  a  state  government,  and  all  these  gov- 
ernments have  to  be  supported  by  taxation. 

1  11  Town,  ooun- 

In  Massachusetts  the  state  and  the  county  ty,  and 
make  use  of  the  machinery  o£  the  town 
government  in  order  to  assess  and  collect  their  taxes. 
The  total  amounts  to  be  raised  are  equitably  divided 
among  the  several  towns  and  cities,  so  that  each  town 
pays  its  proportionate  share.  Each  year,  therefore, 
the  town  assessors  know  that  a  certain  amount  of 
money  must  be  raised  from  the  taxpayers  of  their 
town,  —  partly  for  the  town,  partly  for  the  county, 
partly  for  the  state,  —  and  for  the  general  convenience 
they  usually  assess  it  upon  the  taxpayers  all  at  once. 
The  amounts  raised  for  the  state  and  county  are  usu- 
ally very  much  smaller  than  the  amount  raised  for 
the  town.  As  these  amounts  are  all  raised  in  the 
town  and  by  town  officers,  we  shall  find  it  convenient 
to  sum  up  in  this  place  what  we  have  to  say  about  the 
way  in  which  taxes  are  raised.  Bear  in  mind  that  we 
are  still  considering  the  New  England  system,  and 
our  illustration  is  taken  from  the  practice  in  Massa- 
chusetts. But  the  general  principles  of  taxation  are 
so  similar  in  the  different  states  that,  although  we 
may  now  and  then  have  to  point  to  differences  of 
detail,  we  shall  not  need  to  go  over  the  whole  subject 
again.  We  have  now  to  observe  how  and  upon  whom 
the  taxes  are  assessed. 

They  are  assessed  partly  upon  persons,  but  chiefly 
upon  property,  and  property  is  divisible  into  real 
estate  and  personal  estate.  The  tax  assessed 
upon  persons  is  called  the  poll-tax,  and  can- 
not exceed  the  sum  of  two  dollars  upon  every  male  cit- 
izen old  enough  to  vote.  In  cases  of  extreme  poverty 
the  assessors  may  remit  the  poll-tax. 

As  to  real  estate,  there  are  in   every  town   some 


26  THE   TOWNSHIP. 

lands  and  buildings  which,  for  reasons  of  public  pol- 
Reai-estate  i^y,  are  exempted  from  paying-  taxes  ;  as,  for 
taxes.  example,  churches,  graveyards,  and  tombs; 

many  charitable  institutions,  including  universities 
and  colleges ;  and  public  buildings  which  belong  to 
the  state  or  to  the  United  States,  All  lands  and 
buildings,  except  such  as  are  exempt  by  law,  must 
pay  taxes. 

Personal  property  includes  pretty  much  everything 
that  one  can  own  except  lands  and  buildings,  —  pretty 
much  everything  that  can  be  moved  or  car- 
persoiiai  ricd  about  from  one  place  to  another.  It 
thus  includes  ready  money,  stocks  and  bonds, 
sliips  and  wagons,  furniture,  pictures,  and  books.  It 
also  includes  the  amount  of  debts  due  to  a  person  in 
excess  of  the  amount  that  he  owes  ;  also  the  income 
from  his  employment,  whether  in  the  shape  of  profits 
from  business  or  a  fixed  salary. 

Some  personal  property  is  exempted  from  taxation  ; 
as,  for  example,  household  furniture  to  the  amount  of 
$1,000  in  value,  and  income  from  employment  to  the 
extent  of  $2,000.  The  obvious  intent  of  this  exemp- 
tion is  to  prevent  taxation  from  bearing  too  hard  upon 
persons  of  small  means  ;  and  for  a  similar  reason  the 
tools  of  farmers  and  mechanics  are  exempted.^ 

The  date  at  which  property    is  annually  reckoned 

for  assessment  is  in   Massachusetts  the  first  day  of 

May.     The  poll-tax  is  assessed  upon  each  person  in 

the  town  or  city  where  he  has  his  legal  habitation  on 

that  day :    and  as  a  general  rule  the  taxes 

When  and  ,  .  i 

wiiere  taxes    upoH  liis  pcrsoual  property  are  assessed  to 

are  assessed.     ,  .  .  ,  i  -p, 

hun   m  the   same    place.      Jiut  taxes    upon 
lands   or  buildings  are  assessed  in  the  city  or  town 

^  United  States  bonds  are  also  especially  exempted  from  tax- 
atioQ. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND    TOWNSHIP.  27 

where  tliey  are  situated,  and  to  the  person,  wherever 
he  lives,  who  is  the  owner  of  them  on  the  first  day  of 
May.  Thus  a  man  who  lives  in  the  Berkshire  moun- 
tains, say  for  example  in  the  town  of  Lanesborough, 
will  pay  his  poll-tax  to  that  town.  For  his  personal 
property,  whether  it  be  bonds  of  a  railroad  in  Col- 
orado, or  shares  in  a  bank  in  New  York,  or  costly 
pictures  in  his  house  at  Lanesborough,  he  will  like- 
wise pay  taxes  to  Lanesborough.  So  for  the  house  in 
which  he  lives,  and  the  land  upon  which  it  stands,  he 
paj's  taxes  to  that  same  town.  But  if  he  owns  at  the 
same  time  a  house  in  Boston,  he  pays  taxes  for  it  to 
Boston,  and  if  he  owns  a  block  of  shops  in  Chicago 
he  pays  taxes  for  the  same  to  Chicago.  It  is  very  apt 
to  be  the  case  that  the  rate  of  taxation  is  higher  in 
large  cities  than  in  villages ;  and  accordingly  it  often 
happens  that  wealthy  inhabitants  of  cities,  who  own 
houses  in  some  country  tov/n,  move  into  them  before 
the  first  of  May,  and  otherwise  comport  themselves  as 
legal  residents  of  the  country  town,  in  order  that  their 
personal  property  may  be  assessed  there  rather  than 
in  the  city. 

About  the  first  of  May  the  assessors  call  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  their  town  to  render  a  true  statement 
as  to  their  property.  The  most  approved  form  is  for 
the  assessors  to  send  by  mail  to  each  taxable  inhabitant 
a  printed  list  of  questions,  with  blank  spaces  which 
he  is  to  fill  with  written  answers.  The  questions  relate 
to  every  kind  of  property,  and  when  the 
person  addressed  returns  the  list  to  the  as- 
sessors he  must  make  oath  that  to  the  best  of  his 
knowledge  and  belief  his  answers  are  true.  He  thus 
becomes  liable  to  the  penalties  for  perjury  if  he  can  be 
proved  to  have  sworn  falsely.  A  reasonable  time  — 
usually  six  or  eight  weeks  —  is  allowed  for  the  list  to 


28  THE    TOWNSHIP. 

be  returned  to  the  assessors.  If  any  one  fails  to 
return  his  list  by  the  specified  time,  the  assessors  must 
make  their  own  estimate  of  the  probable  amount  of 
his  property.  If  their  estimate  is  too  high,  he  may 
petition  the  assessors  to  have  the  error  corrected,  but 
in  many  cases  it  may  prove  troublesome  to  effect  this. 
Observe  here  an  important  difference  between  the 
imposition  of  taxes  upon  real  estate  and  upon  personal 
property.  Houses  and  lands  cannot  run  away  or  be 
tucked  out  of  sight.  Their  value,  too,  is  something* 
of  which  the  assessors  can  very  likely  judge  as  well 
as  the  owner.  Deception  is  therefore  ex- 
the  govern-    trcmcly  difficult,  and  taxation  for  real  estate 

meat.  .... 

is  pretty  fairly  distributed  among  the  diiier- 
ent  owners.  With  regard  to  personal  estate  it  is  very 
different.  It  is  comparatively  easy  to  conceal  one's 
ownership  of  some  kinds  of  personal  property,  or  to 
understate  one's  income.  Hence  the  temptation  to 
lessen  the  burden  of  the  tax  bill  by  making  false 
statements  is  considerable,  and  doubtless  a  good  deal 
of  deception  is  practised.  There  are  many  people 
who  are  too  honest  to  cheat  individuals,  but  still  con- 
sider it  a  venial  sin  to  cheat  the  government. 

After  the  assessors  have  obtained  all  their  returns 
they  can  calculate  the  total  value  of  the  taxable  prop- 
erty in  the  town  ;  and  knowing  the  amount  of  the  tax 
to  be  raised,  it  is  easy  to  calculate  the  rate  at  which  the 
The  rate  of  ^^^  ^^  ^^  be  asscsscd.  Ill  iiiost  parts  of  the 
taxation.  United  States  a  rate  of  one  and  a  half  per 
cent,  or  $15  tax  on  each  f  1,0'00  worth  of  property, 
would  be  regarded  as  moderate  ;  three  per  cent  would 
be  regarded  as  excessively  high.  At  the  lower  of 
these  rates  a  man  worth  f 50,000  would  pay  $750  for 
his  yearly  taxes.  The  annual  income  of  $50,000,  in- 
vested on  good  security,  is  hardly  more  than  $2,500. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   TOWNSHIP.  29 

Obviously  $5750  is  a  large  sura  to  subtract  from  such 
an  income. 

In  point  of  fact,  however,  the  tax  is  seldom  quite  as 
heavy  as  this.  It  is  not  easy  to  tell  exactly  how  much 
a  man  is  worth,  and  accordingly  assessors,  not  wish- 
ing to  be  too  disagreeable  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties,  have  naturally  fallen  into  a  way  of  giving  the 
lower  valuation  the  benefit  of  the  doubt,  until  in  many 
places  a  custom  has  grown  up  of  regularly  undervaiua- 
undervaluing  property  for  purposes  of  taxa-  *""*' 
tion.  Very  much  as  liquid  measures  have  gradually 
shrunk  until  it  takes  five  quart  bottles  to  hold  a  gal- 
lon, so  there  has  been  a  shrinkage  of  valuations  iintil 
it  has  become  common  to  tax  a  man  for  only  three 
fourths  or  perhaps  two  thirds  of  what  his  property  is 
worth  in  the  market.  This  makes  the  rate  higher,  to 
be  sure,  bvit  the  individual  taxpayer  nevertheless 
seems  to  feel  relieved  by  it.  Allowing  for  this  under- 
valuation, we  may  say  that  a  man  worth  #50,000  com- 
monly pays  not  less  than  -f 500  for  his  yearly  taxes,  or 
about  one  fifth  of  the  annual  income  of  the  property. 
We  thus  begin  to  see  what  a  heavy  burden  ^he  burden 
taxes  are,  and  how  essential  to  good  govern-  °^  taxation. 
ment  it  is  that  citizens  should  know  what  their  money 
goes  for,  and  should  be  able  to  exert  some  effective 
control  over  the  public  expenditures.  ^Vhere  the  rate 
of  taxation  in  a  town  rises  to  a  very  high  point,  such 
as  two  and  a  half  or  three  per  cent,  the  prosperity  of 
the  town  is  apt  to  be  seriously  crippled.  Traders  and 
manufacturers  move  away  to  other  towns,  or  those 
who  would  otherwise  come  to  the  town  in  question 
stay  away,  because  they  cannot  afford  to  use  up  all 
their  profits  in  paying  taxes.  If  such  a  state  of  things 
is  long  kept  up,  the  spirit  of  enterprise  is  weakened, 
the  place  shows  signs  of  untidiness  and  want  of  thrift, 


30  THE   TOWNSHIP. 

and  neiglibouring  towns,  once  perhaps  far  behind  it 
in  growth,  by  and  by  shoot  ahead  o£  it  and  take  away 
its  business. 

Within  its  proper  sphere,  government  by  town- 
meeting  is  the  form  of  government  most  effectively 
under  watch  and  control.  Everything  is  done  in  the 
full  daylight  of  publicity.  The  specific  objects  for 
which  public  money  is  to  be  appropriated  are  dis- 
cussed in  the  presence  of  everybody,  and  any  one  who 
disapproves  of  any  of  these  objects,  or  of  the  way  in 
which  it  is  proposed  to  obtain  it,  has  an  opportunity 
to  declare  his  opinions.  Under  this  form  of  govern- 
ment people  are  not  so  liable  to  bewildering  delusions 
as  under  other  forms.  I  refer  especially  to  the  delu- 
sion that  "  the  Government  "is   a  sort  of  mysterious 

power,  possessed  of  a  magic  inexhaustible 
fund"deiu-  fuud  of  Wealth,  and  able  to  do  all  manner 

of  things  for  the  benefit  of  "  the  People." 
Some  such  notion  as  this,  more  often  implied  than 
expressed,  is  very  common,  and  it  is  inexpressibly  dear 
to  demagogues.  It  is  the  prolific  root  from  which 
springs  that  luxuriant  crop  of  humbug  upon  which 
political  tricksters  thrive  as  pigs  fatten  upon  corn. 
In  point  of  fact  no  such  government,  armed  with  a 
magic  fund  of  its  own,  has  ever  existed  upon  the  earth. 
No  government  has  ever  yet  used  any  money  for  pub- 
lic jnirposes  which  it  did  not  first  take  from  its  own 
people,  —  unless  when  it  may  have  plundered  it  from 
some  other  people  in  victorious  warfare. 

The  inhabitant  of  a  New  England  town  is  per- 
petually reminded  that  "  the  Government  "  is  "  the 
People."  Although  he  may  think  loosely  about  the 
government  of  his  state  or  the  still  more  remote  gov- 
ernment at  Washington,  he  is  kept  pretty  close  to 
the  facts  where  local  affairs  are  concerned,  and  in 
this  there  is  a  political  training  of  no  small  value. 


THE   NE\Y  ENGLAND    TOWNSHIP.  31 

In  the  kind  of  discussion  wliicli  it  provokes,  in  the 
necessity  of  facing  argument  with  argument  EJucationai 
and  of  keeping  one's  temper  under  control,  town-mLt^^ 
the  town-meeting  is  the  best  political  train-  ■°^' 
ing  school  in  existence.  Its  educational  value  is  far 
higher  than  that  of  the  newspaper,  which,  in  spite  of 
its  many  merits  as  a  diffuser  of  information,  is  very 
apt  to  do  its  best  to  bemuddle  and  sophisticate  plain 
facts.  The  period  when  town-meetings  were  most  im- 
portant from  the  wide  scope  of  their  transactions  was 
tlie  period  of  earnest  and  sometimes  stormy  discussion 
that  ushered  in  our  Revolutionary  war.  Country 
towns  were  then  of  more  importance  relatively  than 
now  ;  one  country  town  —  Boston  —  was  at  the  same 
time  a  great  political  centre  ;  and  its  meetings  were  pre- 
sided over  and  addressed  by  men  of  commanding  abil- 
ity, among  whom  Samuel  Adams,  "  the  man  of  the 
town-meeting,"  ^  was  foremost.  In  those  days  great 
principles  of  government  were  discussed  with  a  wealth 
of  knowledge  and  stated  with  masterly  skill  in  town- 
meeting. 

The  town-meeting  is  to  a  very  limited  extent  a  leg- 
islative body  ;  it  can  make  sundry  regulations  for  the 
management  of  its  local  affairs.  Such  regulations  are 
known  by  a  very  ancient  name,  "  by-laws." 

By-laws. 

By  is  an  Old  Norse  word  meaning  "  town," 
and  it  appears  in  the  names  of  such  towns  as  Derhy 
and  Whitby  in  the  part  of  England  overrun  by  the 
Danes  in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries.     Bj'-laws  are  ' 
town  laws.^ 

^  The  phrase  is  Professor  Hosmer's  :  see  his  Samuel  Adamx, 
the  Man  of  the  Town  Meeting,  m  "  Jolins  Hopkins  Univ.  Studies," 
vol.11,  no.  iv. ;  also  his  Samuel  Adams,  in  "  American  States- 
men "  series,  Boston,  1885. 

2  In  modern  usage  the  rules  and  regulations  of  clubs,  learned 
societies,  and  other  associations,  are  also  called  bj-laws. 


32  THE   TOWNSHIP. 

In  the  selectmen  and  various  special  officers  the 
town  has  an  executive  department ;  and  here  let  us 
observe  that,  while  these  officials  are  kept  strictly  ac- 
countable to  the  people,  they  are  intrusted  with  very 
considerable  authority.  Things  are  not  so  arranged 
that  an  officer  can  plead  that  he  has  failed 
responsibii-     in  liis  dutv  froui  lack  of  power.     There  is 

ity.  ,  ''..,.,        ^  , 

ample  power,  joined  with  complete  responsi- 
bility. This  is  especially  to  be  noticed  in  the  case  of 
the  selectmen.  They  must  often  be  called  upon  to 
exercise  a  wide  discretion  in  what  they  do,  yet  this  ex- 
cites no  serious  popular  distrust  or  jealousy.  The  an- 
nual election  affords  an  easy  means  of  dropping  an 
unsatisfactory  officer.  But  in  practice  nothing  has 
been  more  common  than  for  the  same  persons  to  be 
reelected  as  selectmen  or  constables  or  town-clerks  for 
year  after  year,  as  long  as  they  are  able  or  willing  to 
serve.  The  notion  that  there  is  anything  peculiarly 
American  or  democratic  in  what  is  known  as  "  rota- 
tion in  office  "  is  therefore  not  sustained  by  the  prac- 
tice of  the  New  England  town,  which  is  the  most  com- 
plete democracy  in  the  world.  It  is  the  most  perfect 
exhibition  of  what  President  Lincoln  called  "  govern- 
ment of  the  people  by  the  people  and  for  the  peo- 
ple." 

QUESTIONS   ON    THE    TEXT. 

1.  What  reason  exists  for  beginning  the  study  of  government 

with  that  of  the  New  England  township  ? 

2.  Give  the  origin  of  the  township  in  New  England  according 

to  the  following  analysis  :  — 

a.  Settlement  in  gronps. 

b.  The  chief  reason  for  coming  to  New  England. 

c.  The  leaders  of  the  groups. 

d.  The  favouring  action  of  the  Massachusetts  government. 

e.  Small  farms. 

f.  Defence  against  the  Indians. 

g.  The  limits  of  a  township. 

h.  The  village  within  the  township. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   TOWNSHIP.  33 

3.  What  was  the  social  standing  of  the  first  settlers  ? 

4.  What  training  had  they  received  in  self-government  ? 

5.  Who  do  the  governing  in  a  New  England  township  ? 

6.  Give  an  account  of  the  town-meeting  in  accordance  with  the 

following  analysis  :  — 
a.  The  name  of  the  meeting. 
h.  The  time  for  holding  it. 

c.  The  place  for  holding  it. 

d.  The  persons  who  take  part  in  it. 

e.  The  sort  of  business  done  in  it. 

7.  Give  an  account  of  the  selectmen  :  — 
a.  Their  number. 

h.  The  reason  for  an  odd  number, 
c.  Their  duties. 

8.  When  public  schools  were  established  by  Massachusetts  in 

1647,  what  reasons  were  assigned  for  the  law  ? 

9.  What  classes  or  grades  of  schools  were  then  established  ? 

10.  What  are  the  duties  of  the  Massachusetts  school  committee  ? 

1 1.  What  is  the  term  of  service  of  teachers  in  that  state  ? 

12.  What  are  the  duties  of  the  following  officers  ?  — 
a.  Field-drivers. 

h.  Pound-keepers. 

c.  Fence-viewers. 

d.  Surveyors  of  lumber. 

e.  Measurers  of  wood. 

f.  Sealers  of  weights  and  measures. 

13.  What  are  the  duties  of  the  following  officers?  — 

a.  The  town-clerk. 

b.  The  treasurer. 

c.  Constables. 

d.  Assessors. 

e.  Overseers  of  the  poor. 

14.  Describe  a  warrant  for  a  town-meeting. 

15.  For  what  other  purposes  than  those  of  the  town  are  taxes 

raised  ? 

16.  Explain  the  following  :  — 
a.  The  poll-tax. 

h.  The  tax  on  personal  property. 
c.  The  tax  on  real  estate. 

1 7.  What  kinds  of  real  estate  are  exempted  from  taxation,  and 

why? 

18.  What  kinds  of  personal  property  are  exempted,  and  why  ? 


34  THE   TOWNSHIP. 

ig.  Where  must  the  several  kiuds   of   taxes  be  assessed  and 
paid  ?     Illustrate. 

20.  If  a  person  changes  his  residence  from  one  town  in  the  state 

to  another  before  May  1,  what  consequences  about  taxes 
might  follow  ? 

21.  How  do  the  assessors  ascertain  the  property  for  which  one 

should  be  taxed  ? 

22.  What  difficulties  beset  the  taxation  of  personal  property  ? 

23.  Mention  a  common  practice  in  assigning  values  to  property. 

What  is  the  effect  on  the  tax-rate  ?     Illustrate. 

24.  How  do  high  taxes  operate  as  a  burden  ? 

25.  Describe  a  delusion  from  which  people  who  directly  govern 

themselves  are  practically  free. 

26.  What  is  the  educational  value  of  the  town-meeting  ? 

27.  What  are  by-laws  ?     Explain  the  phrase. 

28.  What  of  the  power  and  responsibility  of  selectmen  ? 

§  2.   Origin  of  the  Township, 

It  was  said  above  that  government  by  town-meet- 
ing is  in  principle  the  oldest  form  of  government 
Town-meet-  known  in  the  world.  The  student  of  ancient 
Greece  and  history  is  familiar  with  the  comitia  of  the 
Rome.  Romans   and   the    ecclesia   of    the    Greeks. 

These  were  popular  assemblies,  held  in  those  soft  cli- 
mates in  the  open  air,  usually  in  the  market-place,  — 
the  Roman  forum,  the  Greek  agora.  The  govern- 
ment carried  on  in  them  was  a  more  or  less  qualified 
democracy.  In  the  palmy  days  of  Athens  it  was  a 
pure  democracy.  The  assemblies  which  in  the  Athe- 
nian market-place  declared  war  against  Syracuse,  or 
condemned  Socrates  to  death,  were  quite  like  New 
England  town-meetings,  except  that  they  exercised 
greater  powers  because  there  was  no  state  government 
above  them. 

The  principle  of  the  town-meeting,  however,  is 
older  than  Athens  or  Rome.  Long  before  streets 
were  built  or  fields  fenced  in,  men  wandered  about  the 


ORIGIN   OF  THE    TOWNSHIP.  35 

earth  hunting  for  food  in  family  parties,  somewhat  as 
lions  do  in  South  Africa.  Such  family  groups  were 
what  we  call  clans,  and  so  far  as  is  known 

Clans 

they  were  the  earliest  form  in  which  civil  so- 
ciety a2:>peared  on  the  earth.  Among  all  wandering 
or  partially  settled  tribes  the  clan  is  to  be  found,  and 
there  are  amjsle  opportunities  for  studying  it  among 
our  Indians  in  North  America.  The  clan  usually  has 
a  chief  or  head-man,  useful  mainly  as  a  leader  in  war- 
time ;  its  civil  government,  crude  and  disorderly 
enough,  is  in  principle  a  pure  democracy. 

When  our  ancestors  first  became  acquainted  with 
American  Indians,  the  most  advanced  tribes  lived 
partly  by  hunting  and  fishing,  but  partly  also  by  rais- 
ing Indian  corn  and  pumpkins.  They  had  begun  to 
live  in  wigwams  grouped  together  in  small  villages 
and  surrounded  by  strong  rows  of  palisades  for  de- 
fence. Now  what  these  red  men  were  doing  our  own 
fair-haired  ancestors  in  northern  and  central  Europe 
had  been  doing  some  twenty  centuries  earlier.  The 
Scandinavians  and  Germans,  when  first  known  in  his- 
tory, had  made  considerable  progress  in  exchanging  a 
wandering  for  a  settled  mode  of  life.  When  the  clan, 
instead  of  moving  from  place  to  place,  fixed  upon 
some  spot  for  a  permanent  residence,  a  village  grew 
up  there,  surrounded  by  a  belt  of  waste  land,  or  some- 
what later  by  a  stockaded  wall.  The  belt  of  land  was 
called  a  mark,  and  the  wall  was  called  a 
tun.^  Afterwards  the  inclosed  space  came  to  aud  the 
be  known  sometimes  as  the  mark,  sometimes 
as  the  tun  or  town.  In  England  the  latter  name  pre- 
vailed. The  inhabitants  of  a  mark  or  town  were  a 
stationaiy  clan.  It  was  customary  to  call  them  by  the 
clan  name,  as  for  example  "  the  Beorings  "  or  "  the 
^  Pronounced  "  toon." 


36  THE    TOWNSHIP. 

Cressings  ;  "  then  the  town  woukl  be  called  Barring- 
ton,  "  town  of  the  Beorings,"  or  Cressinyham,  "  home 
of  the  Cressings."  Town  names  of  this  sort,  with 
which  the  map  of  England  is  thickly  studded,  point 
us  back  to  a  time  when  the  town  was  supposed  to  be 
the  stationary  home  of  a  clan. 

The  Old  English  town  had  its  tungemot,  or  town- 
meeting,  in  which  "  by-laws "  were  made  and  other 
important  business  transacted.     The  principal  officers 

were  the  "  reeve  "  or  head-man,  the  "  bea- 
Eiigiisii         die  "  or  messenger,  and  the  "  tithing-man  " 

or  petty  constable.  These  officers  seem  at 
first  to  have  been  elected  by  the  people,  but  after  a 
while,  as  great  lordships  grew  up,  usurping  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  land,  the  lord's  steward  and  bailiff  came 
to  supersede  the  reeve  and  beadle.  After  the  Norman 
Conquest  the  townships,  thus  brought  under  the  sway 
of  great  lords,  came  to  be  generally  known  by  the 
French  name  of  manors  or  "  dwelling  places."  Much 
might  be  said  about  this  change,  but  here  it  is  enough 
for  us  to  bear  in  mind  that  a  manor  was  essentially 
a  township  in  which  the  chief  executive  officers  were 

directly  responsible  to  the  lord  rather  than 

The  manor.  iTt  iii  i 

to  the  people,  it  would  be  wrong,  however, 
to  suppose  that  the  manors  entirely  lost  their  self- 
government.  Even  the  ancient  town-meeting  survived 
in  them,  in  a  fragmentary  way,  in  several  interesting 
assemblies,  of  which  the  most  interesting  were  the 
court  leet,  for  the  election  of  certain  officers  and  the 
trial  of  petty  offences,  and  the  court  haron,  which  was 
much  like  a  town-meeting. 

Still  more  of  the  old  self-government  would  doubt- 
less have  survived  in  the  institutions  of  the 

The  parish.  .  „    .       ,       ,  ,  •  i     i     r 

manor  it  it  had  not  been  provided  tor  m 
another  way.     The  parish  was  older  than  the  manor. 


ORIGIN   OF  THE    TOWNSHIP.  37 

After  the  English  had  been  converted  to  Christianity 
local  churches  were  gradually  set  up  all  over  the  coun- 
try, and  districts  called  parishes  were  assigned  for  the 
ministrations  of  the  priests.  Now  a  parish  generally 
coincided  in  area  with  a  township,  or  sometimes  with 
a  group  of  two  or  three  townships.  In  the  old  heathen 
times  each  town  seems  to  have  had  its  sacred  place  or 
shrine  consecrated  to  some  local  deity,  and  it  was  a 
favourite  policy  with  the  Roman  missionary  priests 
to  purify  the  old  shrine  and  turn  it  into  a  church.  In 
this  Avay  the  township  at  the  same  time  naturally  be- 
came the  parish. 

As  we  find  it  in  later  times,  both  before  and  since 
the  founding  of  English  colonies  in  North  America, 
the  township  in  England  is  likely  to  be  both 

-I  •    1  -r>  Township, 

a  manor  and  a  parish,     r  or  some  purposes  manor,  and 
it  is  the   one,  for  some  purposes  it  is  the 
other.     The  townsfolk  may  be  regarded  as  a  group  of 
tenants  of  the  lord's  manor,  or  as  a  group  of  parish- 
ioners of  the  local  church.     In  the  latter  asj)ect  the 
parish  retained  much  of  the  self-government  of  the 
ancient  town.     The  business  with  which  the  lord  was 
entitled  to  meddle  was  strictly  limited,  and  all  other 
business    was    transacted    in    the    "  vestry-meeting," 
which  was  practically  the  old  town-meeting  j,,g  vestry- 
under  a  new  name.     In   the  course  of  the  '"eetmg. 
thirteenth  century  we  find  that  the  parish  had  acquired 
the  right  of  taxing  itself  for  church  jjurposes.    jNIoney 
needed  for  the  church  was  supplied  in  the  form  of 
"church-rates"  voted  by  the  ratepayers  themselves  in 
the  vestry-meeting,  so  called  because  it  was  originally 
held  in  a  room  of  the  church  in  which  vestments  were 
kept. 

The  officers  of  the  parish  were  the  constable,  the 


38  THE    TOWNSHIP. 

parish  and  vestry  clerks,^  the  beadle,^  the  "  waywar- 
Parish  offl-  dens  "  Or  surveyors  of  highways,  the  "  hay- 
cers.  wards "     or    fence-viewers,    the    "  common 

drivers,"  the  collectors  of  taxes,  and  at  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  century  overseers  of  the  poor  were 
added.  There  were  also  churchwardens,  usually  two 
for  each  parish.  Their  duties  were  primarily  to  take 
care  of  the  church  propert}*,  assess  the  rates,  and  call 
the  vestry-meetings.  They  also  acted  as  overseers  of 
the  poor,  and  thus  in  several  ways  remind  one  of  the 
selectmen  of  New  England.  The  parish  officers  were 
all  elected  by  the  ratepayers  assembled  in  vestry- 
meeting,  except  the  common  driver  and  hayward,  who 
were  elected  by  the  same  ratepayers  assembled  in 
court  leet.  Besides  electing  parish  officers  and  grant- 
ing the  rates,  the  vestry-meeting  could  enact  bj'-laws  ; 
and  all  ratepayers  had  an  equal  voice  in  its  deliber- 
ations. 

During  the  last  two  centuries  the  constitution  of 

the  English  parish  has  undergone  some  modifications 

which  need  not  here  concern  us.     The  Puritans  who 

settled  in   New  England  had  grown  up  under  such 

parish  government  as  is  here  described,  and 

The  transi-         ,  i  i  •  i  •   i  n     i 

tion  from      tlicv  wcrc  uscd  to  hearing  the  parish  called, 

England  to  ''  .  ,    „°  ^ 

New  Eng-      Oil  somc  occasious  and  tor  some  purposes,  a 

township.       If  we  remember  now  that  the 

earliest  New  England  towns  were  founded  by  church 

congregations,  led  by  their   pastors,  we  can  see  how 

^  Of  these  two  officers  the  vestry  clerk  is  the  counterpart  of 
the  New  England  town-clerk. 

^  Oi'iginally  a  messenger  or  crier,  the  beadle  came  to  assume 
some  of  the  functions  of  the  tithing-man  or  petty  constable, 
such  as  keeping  order  in  church,  punishing  petty  offenders,  wait- 
ing on  the  clergyman,  etc.  In  New  England  towns  there  were 
formerly  officers  called  tithing-nien,  who  kept  order  iii  church, 
arrested  tijiplers,  loafers,  and  Sabbath-breakers,  etc. 


ORIGIN   OF  THE    TOWNSHIP.  39 

town  government  in  New  England  originated.  It  was 
simply  the  English  parish  government  brought  into  a 
new  country  and  adapted  to  the  new  situation.  Part 
of  this  new  situation  consisted  in  the  fact  that  the 
lords  of  the  manor  were  left  behind.  There  was  no 
longer  any  occasion  to  distinguish  between  the  town- 
ship as  a  manor  and  the  townshij)  as  a  parish  ;  and  so, 
as  the  three  names  had  all  lived  on  together,  side  by 
side,  in  England,  it  was  now  the  oldest  and  most  gen- 
erally descriptive  name,  "township,"  that  survived, 
and  has  come  into  use  throughout  a  great  part  of  the 
United  States.  The  townsfolk  went  on  making  by- 
laws, voting  supplies  of  public  money,  and  electing 
their  magistrates  in  America,  after  the  fashion  with 
which  they  had  for  ages  been  familiar  in  England. 
Some  of  their  offices  and  customs  were  of  hoary  an- 
tiquity. If  age  gives  respectability,  the  office  of  con- 
stable may  vie  with  that  of  king ;  and  if  the  annual 
town-meeting  is  usually  held  in  the  month  of  March, 
it  is  because  in  days  of  old,  long  before  Magna  Charta 
was  thought  of,  the  rules  and  regulations  for  the  vil- 
lage husbandry  were  discussed  and  adopted  in  time 
for  the  spring  planting. 

To  complete  our  sketch  of  the  origin  of  the  New 
England  town,  one  point  should  here  be  briefly  men- 
tioned in  anticipation  of  what  will  have  to  be  said 
hereafter ;  but  it  is  a  point  of  so  much  importance 
that  we  need  not  mind  a  little  repetition  in  stating  it. 

We  have  seen  what  a  great  part  taxation  plays  in 
the  business  of  government,  and  we  shall  presently 
have  to  treat  of  county,  state,  and  federal  Buudingup 
governments,  all  of  them  wider  in  their  ^**'^'^*- 
sphere  than  the  town  government.  In  the  course  of 
history,  as  nations  have  gradually  been  built  up,  these 
wider  governments  have  been  aj^t  to  absorb  or  sup- 


40  THE   TOWNSHIP. 

plant  and  crush  the  narrower  governments,  such  as 
the  parish  or  township ;  and  this  process  has  too  often 
been  destructive  to  political  freedom.  Such  a  result 
is,  of  course,  disastrous  to  everybody  ;  and  if  it  were 
unavoidable,  it  would  be  better  that  great  national 
governments  need  never  be  formed.  But  it  is  not  un- 
avoidable. There  is  one  way  of  escaping  it,  and  that 
is  to  give  the  little  government  of  the  town  some  real 
share  in  making  up  the  great  government  of  the  state. 
That  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  do,  as  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  most  peoples  have  failed  in  the  attempt.  The 
people  who  speak  the  English  language  have  been  the 
most  successful,  and  the  device  by  which  they  have 
Representa-  overcomc  the  difficulty  is  Representation. 
*'*'"■  The  town  sends  to  the  wider  government  a 

delegation  of  persons  who  can  represent  the  town  and 
its  people.  They  can  speak  for  the  town,  and  have  a 
voice  in  the  framing  of  laws  and  imposition  of  taxes 
by  the  wider  government. 

In  English  townships   there    has   been   from  time 

immemorial  a  system  of  representation.     Long  before 

AKred's  time  there  were  "  shire-motes,"  or 

Shire-motes. 

what  were  afterwards  called  county  meet- 
ings, and  to  these  each  town  sent  its  reeve  and  "  four 
discreet  men  "  as  7'epresentatives.  Thus  to  a  certain 
extent  the  wishes  of  the  townsfolk  could  be  brought 
to  bear  upon  county  affairs.  By  and  by  this  method 
was  applied  on  a  much  wider  scale.  It  was  applied  to 
the  whole  kingdom,  so  that  the  people  of  all  its  towns 
and  parishes  succeeded  in  securing  a  representation  of 
their  interests  in  an  elective  national  council  or  House 
of  Commons.  This  great  work  was  accomplished  in 
Earl  Simon's  ^^^^  thirteenth  century  by  Simon  de  Mont- 
Pariiament.  £qj.^^  Earl  of  Lcicestcr,  and  was  completed 
by  Edward  I.     Simon's  parliament,  the  first  in  which 


ORIGIN   OF   THE    TOWNSHIP.  41 

the  Commons  were  fully  represented,  was  assembled 
in  1265  ;  and  the  date  of  Edward's  parliament,  which 
has  been  called  the  Model  Parliament,  was  1295. 
These  dates  have  as  much  interest  for  Americans  as 
for  Englishmen,  because  they  mark  the  first  definite 
establishment  of  that  grand  system  of  representative 
government  which  we  are  still  carrying  on  at  our  vari- 
ous state  capitals  and  at  Washington.  For  its  humble 
beginnings  we  have  to  look  back  to  the  "  reeve  and 
four"  sent  by  the  ancient  townships  to  the  county 
meetings. 

The  English  township  or  parish  was  thus  at  an  early 
period  the  "  unit  of  representation "  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  county.  It  was  also  a  district  for  the  as- 
sessment and  collection  of  the  national  taxes ; 

.    -        ,  -       -  Township  as 

in  each  parish  the  assessment  was  made  by  unit  of  rep- 

-  -  ,  -  resentatiou. 

a  board  oi  assessors  chosen  by  popular  vote. 
These  essential  points  reappear  in  the  early  history 
of  New  England.  The  townshij)  was  not  only  a  self- 
governing  body,  but  it  was  the  "  unit  of  representa- 
tion "  in  the  colonial  legislature,  or  "  General  Court ;  " 
and  the  assessment  of  taxes,  whether  for  town  pur- 
poses or  for  state  purposes,  was  made  by  assessors 
elected  by  the  townsfolk.  In  its  beginnings  and  fun- 
damentals our  political  liberty  did  not  originate  upon 
American  soil,  but  was  brought  hither  by  our  fore- 
fathers the  first  settlers.  They  brought  their  political 
institutions  with  them  as  naturally  as  they  brought 
their  language  and  their  social  customs. 

Observe  now  that  the  township  is  to  be  regarded  in 
two  lights.  It  must  be  considered  not  only  in  itself, 
but  as  part  of  a  greater  whole.  We  began  by  de- 
scribing it  as  a  self-governing  body,  but  in  order  to 
complete  our  sketch  we  were  obliged  to  S2:)eak  of  it  as 
a  body  which  has  a  share   in  the  government  of  the 


42  THE    TOWNSHIP. 

state  and  tlie  nation.  The  latter  aspect  is  as  impor- 
tant as  the  former.  If  the  jjeople  of  a  town  had  only 
the  power  of  managing  their  local  affairs,  without  the 
power  of  taking  part  in  the  management  of  national 
affairs,  their  political  freedom  would  be  far  from  com- 
plete. In  Russia,  for  example,  the  larger  j^art  of  the 
vast  population  is  resident  in  village  communities  which 
have  to  a  considerable  extent  the  power  of  managing 
their  local  affairs.  Such  a  village  community  is  called 
a  mh\  and  like  the  English  township  it  is 

The  Russian  o  a 

village  com-    Hneallv  descended  from  the   stationary  clan. 

munity ;  not  cit-»  •  •     i      i  ^  • 

represented    1  he  pcoplc  01  tlic  liussian  mw  hoM  mectmgs 
tionai  gov-     in  whicli  they  elect  sundry  local  officers,  dis- 

ernment.  ..  iii  pii 

tribute  the  burden  oi  local  taxation,  make 
regulations  concerning  local  husbandry  and  police, 
and  transact  other  business  which  need  not  here  con- 
cern us.  But  they  have  no  share  in  the  national 
government,  and  are  obliged  to  obey  laws  which  they 
have  no  voice  in  making,  and  pay  taxes  assessed  upon 
them  without  their  consent ;  and  accordingly  we  say 
with  truth  that  the  Russian  people  do  not  possess 
political  freedom.  One  reason  for  this  has  doubtless 
been  that  in  times  past  the  Russian  territory  was  the 
great  frontier  battle-ground  between  civilized  Europe 
and  the  wild  hordes  of  western  Asia,  and  the  people 
who  lived  for  ages  on  that  turbulent  frontier  were 
subjected  to  altogether  too  much  conquest.  They 
have  tasted  too  little  of  civil  government  and  too  much 
of  military  government,  —  a  pennyworth  of  whole- 
some bread  to  an  intolerable  deal  of  sack.  The  early 
English,  in  their  snug  little  corner  of  the  world, 
belted  by  salt  sea,  were  able  to  develop  their  civil 
government  with  less  destructive  interference.  They 
made  a  sound  and  healthful  beginning  when  they  made 
the  township   the    "  unit   of   representation "  for  the 


ORIGIN   OF  THE    TOWNSHIP.  43 

county.  Then  the  township,  besides  managing  its 
own  affairs,  began  to  take  part  in  the  management  of 
wider  affairs. 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE   TEXT. 

1 .  Show  that  the  principle  of   goverument  by  town  -  meeting 

was  known 

a.  In  ancient  Greece  and  Rome. 

b.  Earlier  still  in  primitive  society. 

c.  Among  the  American  Indians. 

d.  Among  the  old  Scandinavians  and  Germans. 

2.  Distinguish  between  the  mark  and  the  tun.     Illustrate  the 

English  use  of  the  latter  name. 

3.  Give  an  account  of  the  following  :  — 

a.  The  English  township  and  its  officers  before  the  Conquest. 

b.  The  changes  due  to  the  Conquest. 

c.  The  survival  of  self-government  in  the  manor. 

d.  The  parish  and  its  relation  to  the  township. 

4.  Contrast  the  township  as  a  manor  with  the  township  as  a  par- 

ish in  respect  to  government. 

5.  Describe  the  parish  government  under  the  following  heads  :  — 

a.  The  vestry-meeting. 

b.  Taxation. 

c.  The  officers  of  the  parish. 

d.  The  persons  entitled  to  vote. 

6.  Show  how  town   government   in  New  England  grew  out  of 

parish  government  in  Old  England.     What  features  were 
retained  and  what  were  given  up  ? 

7.  Show  the  antiquity  of  some  details  of  town  government. 

8.  What  is  the  object  of  representation  ? 

9.  What  were  the  shire-motes  of  Alfred's  time  ? 

10.  What  was  the  origin  of  the  English  House  of  Commons  ? 

1 1 .  Why  should  Americans  be  interested  in  this  English  body  ? 

12.  What  essential  points  of  the  English  township  reappear  in 

New  England  ? 

13.  In  what  two  aspects  must  the  township  now  be  regarded  ? 

14.  Show  how  in  Russia  the  township  presents  one  of  these  as- 

pects but  lacks  the  other. 

15.  What  political  result  follows  from  the  lack  of  representation 

in  the  Russian  township  ? 

16.  Mention  one  probable  reason  why  England  succeeded  where 

Russia  failed  ? 


44  THE    TOWNSHIP. 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS   AND   DIRECTIONS. 

\ 

1.  Obtain  the  following  documents  :  — 

a.  A  town  warrant. 

b.  A  town  report. 

c.  A  tax  bill,  a  permit,  a  certificate,  or  any  town  paper  that 

has  or  may  have  an  official  signature. 

d.  A  report  of  the  school  committee. 

If  you  live  in  a  city,  send  to  the  clerk  of  a  neighbouring 
town  for  a  warrant,  inclosing  a  stamp  for  the  reply.  City 
documents  will  answer  most  of  tlie  purposes  of  this  exer- 
cise. 

Make  any  of  the  foregoing  documents  the  basis  of  a  report. 

2.  Give  an  account  of  the  following  :  — 

a.  The  various  kinds  of  taxes  raised  in  your  town,  the  amount 

of  each  kind,  the  valuation,  the  rate,  the  proposed  use 

of  the  money,  etc. 
6.  The  work  of  any  department  of  the  town  government  for 

a  year,  as,  for  example,  that  of  the  overseers  of  the 

poor. 
c.  Any  pressing  need  of  your  town,  public  sentiment  towards 

it,  tlie  probable  cost  of  satisfying  it,  the  obstacles  in 

the  way  of  meeting  it,  etc. 

3.  A  good  way  to  arouse  interest  in  the  subject  of  town  gov- 

ernment is  to  organize  the  class  as  a  town-meeting,  and 
let  it  discuss  live  local  questions  in  accordance  with  arti- 
cles in  a  warrant.  For  helpful  details  attend  a  town- 
meeting,  read  the  record  of  some  meeting,  consult  some 
person  familiar  with  town  ^proceedings,  or  study  the  Gen- 
eral Statutes. 

To  insure  a  discussion,  it  may  be  necessary  at  the  outset  for 
the  teacher  to  assign  to  the  several  pupils  single  points  to 
be  expanded  and  presented  in  order. 

There  is  an  advantage  in  the  teacher's  serving  as  moderator. 
He  may,  as  teacher,  pause  to  give  such  directions  and 
explanations  as  may  be  helpful  to  young  citizens. 

The  i)upils  sliould  be  held  up  to  the  more  obvious  require- 
ments of  parliamentary  law,  and  shown  how  to  use  its 
rules  to  accomplish  various  purposes. 

4.  Has  the  state  a  right  to  direct  the  education  of  its  youth  ? 

If  the  state  has  such  a  right,  are  there  any  limits  to  the 
exercise  of  it  ?     Does  the  right  to  direct  the  education  of 


ORIGIN   OF  THE    TOWNSHIP.  45 

its  youth  carry  with  it  the  right  to  abolish  private 
schools  ? 

5.  Is  it  wise  to  assist  private  educational  institutions  with  pub- 
'  lie  funds  ? 

6.  Ought  teachers,  if  approved,  to  be  appointed  for  one  year 

only,  or  during  good  behaviour  ? 

7.  What  classes  of  officers  in  a  town  should  serve  during  good 

behaviour  ?  What  classes  may  be  frequently  changed 
without  injury  to  the  public  ? 

8.  Compare  the  school  committee  in  your  own  state  (if  it  is  not 

Massachusetts)  with  that  in  Massachusetts. 

9.  Illustrate  from  personal  knowledge  the  difference  between 

real  estate  and  personal  property. 

10.  A  loans  B  SIOOO.      May  A  be  taxed  for  the  $1000  ?      Why  ? 

May  B  be  taxed  for  the  -f  1000  ?  Why  ?  Is  it  right  to 
tax  both  for  $1000  ?  Suppose  B  with  the  money  buys 
goods  of  C.  Is  it  right  to  tax  the  three  for  $1000 
each  ? 

11.  A  taxpayer  worth  $100,000  in  personal  property  makes  no 

return  to  the  assessors.  In  their  ignorance  the  assessors 
tax  him  for  $50,000  only,  and  the  tax  is  paid  without 
question.     Does  the  taxpayer  act  honourably  ? 

12.  What  difficulties  beset  the  work  of  the  assessors  ? 

13.  Would  anything  be  gained  by  exempting  personal  property 

from  taxation  ?  If  so,  what  ?  Would  anything  be  lost  ? 
If  so,  what  ? 

14.  Does  any  one  absolutely  escape  taxation? 

1 5.  Does  the  poll-tax  payer  pay,  in  any  sense,  more  than  his  poll- 

tax  ? 

1 6.  Are  there  any  taxes  that  people  pay  without  seeming  to  know 

it  ?     If  so,  what  ?  (See  below,  chap.  viii.  §  8.). 

17.  Have  we  clans  to-day  among  ourselves  ?     (Think  of  family 

reunions,  people  of  the  same  name  in  a  community,  de- 
scendants of  early  settlers,  etc.).  What  important  dif- 
ferences exist  between  these  modern  so-called  clans  and 
the  ancient  ones  ? 

18.  What  is  a  "clannish"  spirit  ?     Is  it  a  good  spirit  or  a  bad 

one  ?     Is  it  ever  the  same  as  patriotism  ? 

19.  Look  up  the  meaning  of  ham,  wick,  and  stead.     Think  of 

towns  whose  names  contain  these  words  ;  also  of  towns 
whose  names  contain  the  word  tun  or  ton  or  town. 

20.  Give  an  account  of  the  tithing-man  in  earlv  New  England. 


46  THE    TOWNSHIP. 

2 1 .  In  what  sense  is  the  word  "  parish  "  commonly  used   in   the 

United  States  ?  Is  the  parish  the  same  as  the  church  ? 
Has  it  any  limits  of  territory  ? 

22.  In  Massachusetts,  clergymen  were  formerly  paid  out  of  the 

taxes  of  the  township.  How  did  this  come  about  ?  In 
this  practice  was  there  a  union  or  a  separation  of  church 
and  state  ? 

23.  Ministers  are  not  now  supported  by  taxation  in  the  United 

States.  What  important  change  in  the  parish  idea  does 
this  fact  indicate  ?     Is  it  a  change  for  the  better  ? 

24.  Ai'e  women  who  do  not  vote  represented  in  town  govern- 

ment ? 

25.  Are  boys  and  girls  represented  in  town  government  ? 

26.  Is  there  anybody  in  a  town  who  is  not  represented  in  its  gov- 

ernment ? 

27.  How  are   citizens   of  a   town  represented  in  state  govern- 

ment ? 

28.  How  are  citizens  of  a  town  represented  in  the  national  gov- 

ernment ? 

29.  Imagine  a  situation  in  which  the  ballot  of  a  single  voter  in 

a  town  might  affect  the  action  of  the  national  govern- 
ment. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE. 


§  1.  The  New  England  Township.  There  is  a  good  ac- 
count in  Martin's  Text  Book  on  Civil  Government  in  the  United 
States.     N.  Y.  &  Chicago,  1875. 

§  2.  Origin  of  the  Township.  Here  the  Johns  Hopkins 
University  Studies  in  Historical  and  Political  Science,  edited  by 
Dr.  Herbert  Adams,  are  of  great  value.  Note  especially  series 
I.  no.  i.  E.  A.  Freeman,  Introduction  to  American  Institutional 
History  ;  I.,  ii.  iv.  viii.  ix.-x.  II.  B.  Adams,  The  Germanic  Origin 
of  New  England  Towns,  Saxon  Tithing-Men  in  America,  Norman 
Constables  in  America,  Village  Communities  of  Cape  Ann  and  Sa- 
lem ;  IL,  X.  Edward  Channing,  Town  and  County  Government  in 
the  English,  Colonies  of  North  America  ;  IV.,  xi.-xii.  Melville 
Egleston,  The  Land  System  of  the  New  England  Colonies ;.  VII., 
vii.-ix.    C.  M.  Andrews,  The  River  Towns  of  Connecticut. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE   TOWNSHIP.  47 

See  also  Howard's  Local  Constitutional  History  of  the  United 
States,  vol.  i.  "  To^vnsllip,  Hundred,  and  Shire,"  Baltimore, 
1889,  a  work  of  extraordinary  merit. 

The  great  book  on  local  self-government  in  England  is  Toul- 
min  Smith's  The  Parish,  2d  ed.,  London,  1859.  For  the  an- 
cient history  of  the  township,  see  Gomme's  Primitive  Folk-Moots, 
London,  1880  ;  Gomme's  Village  Community,  London,  1890  ; 
Seebohm's  English  Village  Community,  Loudon,  1883  ;  Nasse's 
Agricultural  Community  of  the  Middle  Ages,  London,  1872  ;  La- 
veleye's  Primitive  Property,  hoiidon,  1878;  Phear's  Aryan  Village 
in  India  and  Ceylon,  London,  1880;  Hearn  (of  the  University  of 
Melbourne,  Aixstralia),  The  Aryan  Household,  London  &  Mel- 
bourne, 1879  ;  and  the  following  works  of  Sir  Henry  Maine : 
Ancient  Law,  London,  1861;  Village  Communities  in  the  East  and 
West,  London,  1871;  Early  History  of  Institutions,  L,ondon,  1875; 
Early  Law  and  Custom,  London,  1883.  All  of  Maine's  works 
are  republished  in  New  York.  See  also  my  American  Political 
Ideas,  N.  Y.,  1885. 

Gomme's  Literature  of  Local  Institutions,  London,  1886,  con- 
tains an  extensive  bibliography  of  the  subject,  with  valuable  crit- 
ical notes  and  comments. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    COUNTY. 

§  1.  The   County  in  its  Beginnings. 

It  is  now  time  for  us  to  treat  of  the  county,  and  we 
may  as  well  begin  by  considering  its  origin.  In  treat- 
ing of  the  township  we  began  by  sketching  it  in  its 
fullest  development,  as  seen  in  New  England.  With 
the  county  we  shall  find  it  helpful  to  pursue  a  differ- 
ent method  and  start  at  the  beginning. 

If  we  look  at  the  maps  of  the  states  which  make  up 
our  Union,  we  see  that  they  are  all  divided  into  coun- 
ties (except  that  in  Louisiana  the  corresponding  divi- 
sions are  named  parishes).  The  map  of  England 
shows  that  country  as  similarly  divided  into  coun- 
ties. 

If  we  ask  why  this  is  so,  some  people  will  tell  us 

that  it  is  convenient,  for  purposes  of  admin- 

we  have         istratiou,  to  have  a  state,  or  a  kingdom,  di- 

counties  ?  .  ,     ,    .  ,  ,  i  •        i 

vided  into  areas  that  are  larger  than  single 
towns.  There  is  much  truth  in  this.  It  is  convenient. 
If  it  were  not  so,  counties  would  not  have  survived,  so 
as  to  make  a  part  of  our  modern  maps.  Neverthe- 
less, this  is  not  the  historic  reason  why  we  have  the 
particular  kind  of  subdivisions  known  as  counties. 
We  have  them  because  our  fatliers  and  grandfathers 
had  them  ;  and  thus,  if  we  would  find  out  the  true 
reason,  we  may  as  well  go  back  to  the  ancient  times 


THE   COUNTY  IN  ITS  BEGINNINGS.         49 

when  our  forefathers  were  establishing  themselves  in 
England. 

We  have  seen  how  the  elan  of  our  barbarous  ances- 
tors, when  it  became  stationary,  was  established  as  the 
town  or  township.  But  in  those  early  times  clans  were 
generally  united  more  or  less  closely  into  tribes. 
Among  all  primitive  or  barbarous  races  of  men,  so  far 
as  we  can  make  out,  society  is  organized  in  ^lans  and 
tribes,  and  each  tribe  is  made  up  of  a  num-  *"''''^" 
ber  of  clans  or  family  groups.  Now  when  our  Eng- 
lish forefathers  conquered  Britain  they  settled  there  as 
clans  and  also  as  tribes.  The  clans  became  townships, 
and  the  tribes  became  shires  or  counties  ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  names  were  applied  first  to  the  people  and 
afterwards  to  the  land  they  occupied.  A  few  of  the 
oldest  county  names  in  England  still  show  this  plainly. 
jEJssex,  Middlesex,  and  Sussex  were  originally  "  East 
Saxons,"  "  Middle  Saxons,"  and  "•  South  Saxons  ;  " 
and  on  the  eastern  coast  two  tribes  of  Angles  were 
distinguished  as  "  North  folk  "  and  "  South  folk,"  or 
Norfolk  and  Suffolk.  When  you  look  on  the  map 
and  see  the  town  of  IcJclingham  in  the  county  of  Suf- 
folk, it  means  that  this  place  was  once  known  as  the 
"  home  "  of  the  "  Icklings  "  or  "  children  of  Ickel,"  a 
clan  which  formed  part  of  the  tribe  of  "  South  folk." 

In  those  days  there  was  no  such  thing  as  a  King- 
dom   of    Enoland  ;    there    were    only  these 
ffroups  of  tribes  livino'  side  by  side.     Each   nation,  like 

•111-11  ^  -1  7  7  tlieAmeri- 

tnbe  had  its  leader,  whose  title  was  ealaor-  can,  grew 
man,    or   "elder  man.        After  a  while,  as  union  of 

.  ,  I     .  .  1  Bniall  states. 

some    tribes    increased   in    size    and  power, 
their  ealdormen  took  the  title  of  kings.    The  little  king- 
doms coincided  sometimes  with  a  single  shire,  some- 

^  The  prouuueiatloii  was  probably  something   like  ydwl-dor- 
man. 


50  THE  COUNTY. 

times  with  two  or  more  shires.  Thus  there  was  a  king;- 
dom  of  Kent,  and  the  North  and  South  Folk  were 
combined  in  a  kingdom  of  East  Anglia.  In  course  of 
time  numbers  of  shires  combined  into  larger  king- 
doms, such  as  Northumbria,  Mercia,  and  the  West 
Saxons  ;  and  finally  the  king  of  the  West  Saxons 
became  king  of  all  England,  and  the  several  shires 
became  subordinate  parts  or  "  shares  "  of  the  kingdom. 
In  England,  therefore,  the  shires  are  older  than  the 
nation.  The  shires  were  not  made  by  dividing  the 
nation,  but  the  nation  was  made  by  uniting  the  shires. 
The  English  nation,  like  the  American,  grew  out  of 
the  union  of  little  states  that  had  once  been  independ- 
ent of  one  another,  but  had  many  interests  in  com- 
mon. For  not  less  than  three  hundred  years  after  all 
England  had  been  united  under  one  king,  these  shires 
retained  their  self-government  almost  as  completely  as 
the  several  states  of  the  American  Union. ^  A  few 
words  about  their  government  will  not  be  wasted,  for 
they  will  help  to  thi-ow  light  upon  some  things  that 
still  form  a  part  of  our  political  and  social  life. 

The  shire  was   governed   by  the  shire-mote  (i.  e. 
"meeting"),    which    was    a    representative 

Shire-mote,  -p  •  • 

eaidorman,     bodv.     Lords  of  lauds,  includins:  abbots  and 

and  sheriff.  .  "^  '  ^ 

priors,  attended  it,  as  well  as  the  reeve  and 
four  selected  men  from  each  township.  There  were 
thus  the  germs  of  both  the  kind  of  representation  that 
is  seen  in  the  House  of  Lords  and  the  much  more  per- 
fect kind  that  is  seen  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Af- 
ter a  while,  as  cities  and  boroughs  grew  in  importance, 
they  sent  representative  burghers  to  the  shire-mote. 
There  were  two  presiding  officers  ;  one  was  the  eaidor- 
man, who  was  now  appointed  by  the  king ;  the  other 
was  the  shire-reeve  (i.  e.  "  sheriff "),  who  was  still 
elected  by  the  people  and  generally  held  office  for  life. 
^  Chalmers,  Local  Government,  p.  90. 


THE   COUNTY  IN  ITS  BEGINNINGS.        51 

This  shire-mote  was  both  a  legislative  body  and  a 
court  of  justice.  It  not  only  made  laws  for  the  shire, 
but  it  tried  civil  and  criminal  causes.  After  the  Nor- 
man Conquest  some  changes  occurred.  The  shire  now 
began  to  be  called  by  the  French  name  " count}," 
because  of  its  analogy  to  the  small  pieces  of  territory 
on  the  Continent  that  were  governed  by  "  counts."  ^ 
The  shire-mote  became  known  as  the  county  jjjg  county 
court,  but  cases  coming  before  it  were  tried  *^°"'''' 
by  the  king's  justices  in  eyre,  or  circuit  judges,  who 
went  about  from  county  to  county  to  preside  over 
the  judicial  work.  The  office  of  ealdorman  became 
extinct.  The  sheriff  was  no  longer  elected  by  the 
people  for  life,  but  appointed  by  the  king  for  the  term 
of  one  year.  This  kept  him  strictly  responsible  to 
the  king.  It  was  the  sheriff's  duty  to  see  that  the 
county's  share  of  the  national  taxes  was  duly  col- 
lected and  paid  over  to  the  national  treasury.  The 
sheriff  also  summoned  juries  and  enforced  the  judg- 
ments of  the  courts,  and  if  he  met  with  resistance  in 
so  doing  he  was  authorized  to  call  out  a  force  of  men, 
known  as  the  posse  comitatus  (i.  e.  "power  of  the 
county  "),  and  overcome  all  opposition.  Another  county 
officer    was   the    coroner,    or    crowner?    so 

nil  •     •        n        ^»         Aic       n         •  X      The  coroner. 

called  because  originally  (m  Alfred  s  time) 
he  was  appointed  by  the  king,  and  was  especially  the 
crown  officer  in  the  county.  Since  the  time  of  Ed- 
ward I.,  however,  coroners  have  been  elected  by  the 
people.  Originally  coroners  held  small  courts  of  in- 
quiry upon  cases  of  wreckage,  destructive  fires,  or 
sudden  death,  but  in  course  of  time  their  jurisdiction 
became  confined  to  the  last-named  class  of  cases.     If 

^  Originally  coMites,  or  "  companions  "  of  the  king. 
2  This  form  of  the  word,  sometimes  supposed  to  be  a  vulgar- 
ism, is  as  correct  as  the  other.     See  Skeat,  Etym.  Diet.,  s.  v. 


52  THE   COUNTY. 

a  death  occurred  under  circumstances  in  any  way  mys- 
terious or  likely  to  awaken  suspicion,  it  was  the  business 
of  the  coroner,  assisted  by  not  less  than  twelve  jurors 
(i.  e.  "sworn  men  "),  to  hold  an  iyiquest  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  the  cause  of  death.  The  coroner 
could  compel  the  attendance  of  witnesses  and  order  a 
medical  examination  of  the  body,  and  if  there  were 
sufficient  evidence  to  charge  any  person  with  murder 
or  manslaughter,  the  coroner  could  have  such  person 
arrested  and  committed  for  trial. 

Another  important  county  officer  was  the  justice  of 
Justices  of  t^^  i^eace.  Originally  six  were  appointed  by 
the  peace.  ^^  crown  In  cach  county,  but  in  later  times 
any  number  might  be  appointed.  The  office  was 
created  by  a  series  of  statutes  in  the  reign  of  Edward 
III.,  in  order  to  put  a  stop  to  the  brigandage  which 
still  flourished  in  England ;  it  was  a  common  practice 
for  robbers  to  seize  persons  and  hold  them  for  ransom.^ 
By  the  last  of  these  statutes,  in  1362,  the  justices  of 
the  peace  in  each  county  were  to  hold  a  court  four 
times  in  the  year.  The  powers  of  this  court,  which 
came  to  be  known  as  the  Quarter  Sessions,  were  from 
time  to  time  increased  by  act  of  parliament,  until  it  quite 
The  Quarter  supplautcd  the  old  couuty  court.  In  modern 
Sessions.  timcs  the  Quarter  Sessions  has  become  an 
administrative  body  quite  as  much  as  a  court.  The 
justices,  who  receive  no  salary,  hold  office  for  life,  or 
during  good  behaviour.  They  appoint  the  chief  con- 
stable of  the  county,  who  appoints  the  police.  They 
also  take  part  in  the  supervision  of  highways  and 
bridges,  asylums  and  prisons.  Since  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.,  the  English  county  lias  had  an  officer 
The  lord-  known  as  the  lord-lieutenant,  who  was  once 
lieutenant.     Jeadcr  of  tlic  county  militia,  but  whose  func- 

^  Longman's  Life  and  Times  of  Edward  HI.,  vol.  i.  p.  301. 


THE   COUNTY  IN  ITS  BEGINNINGS.         53 

tions  to-day  are   those  of  keeper  of  the  records  and 
principal  justice  of  the  peace. 

During  the  past  five  hundred  years  the  English 
county  has  gradually  sunk  from  a  self-governing  com- 
munity into  an  administrative  district ;  and  in  recent 
times  its  boundaries  have  been  so  crossed  and  cris- 
crossed  with  those  of  other  administrative  areas,  such 
as  those  of  school-boards,  sanitary  boards,  etc.,  that 
very  little  of  the  old  county  is  left  in  recognizable 
shape.  Most  of  this  change  has  been  effected  since 
the  Tudor  period.  The  first  English  settlers  in  Amer- 
ica were  familiar  with  the  county  as  a  district  for  the 
administration  of  justice,  and  they  brought  Beginnings 
with  them  coroners,  sheriffs,  and  quarter  chu^eTtr* 
sessions.  In  1635  the  General  Court  of  Mas-  '=°""''"^- 
sachu  setts  apj)ointed  four  towns  —  Boston,  Cam- 
bridge, Salem,  and  Ipswich  —  as  places  where  courts 
should  be  held  quarterly.  In  1643  the  colony,  which 
then  included  as  much  of  New  Hamj)shire  as  was  set- 
tled, was  divided  into  four  "  shires,"  —  Suffolk,  Essex, 
Middlesex,  and  Norfolk,  the  latter  lying  then  to  the 
northward  and  including  the  New  Hampshire  towns. 
The  militia  was  then  organized,  perhaps  without  con- 
sciousness of  the  analogy,  after  a  very  old  English 
fashion  ;  the  militia  of  each  town  formed  a  company, 
and  the  companies  of  the  shire  formed  a  regiment. 
The  county  was  organized  from  the  beginning  as  a 
judicial  district,  with  its  court-house,  jail,  and  sheriff. 
After  1697  the  court,  held  by  the  justices  of  the  peace, 
was  called  the  Court  of  General  Sessions.  It  could 
try  criminal  causes  not  involving  the  penalty  of  death 
or  banishment,  and  civil  causes  in  which  the  value  at 
stake  was  less  than  forty  shillings.  It  also  had  con- 
trol over  highways  going  from  town  to  town  ;  and  it 
apportioned  the  county  taxes  among  the  several  towns. 


54  THE   COUNTY. 

The  justices  and  sheriff  were  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor, as  in  England  by  the  king. 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE   TEXT. 

1.  Why  do  we  have  counties  in  the  United  States  ?     Contrast 

the  popular  reason  with  the  historic. 

2.  What  relation  did  the  tribe  hold  to  the  clan  among  our  an- 

cestors ? 

3.  In  time  what  did  the  clans  and  the  tribes  severally  become  ? 

4.  Show  how  old  county  names  in  England  throw  light  on  the 

county  development. 

5.  Trace  the  growth  of  the  English  nation  in  accordance  with 

the  following  outline  :  — 

a.  Each  tribe  and  its  leader. 

b.  A  powerful  tribe  and  its  leader. 

c.  The  relation  of  a  little  kingdom  to  the  shire. 

d.  The  final  union  under  one  king. 

e.  The  relative  ages  of  the  shire  and  the  nation. 

6.  Give  an  account  (1)  of  the  shire-mote,  (2)  of  the  two  kinds 

of  representation  in  it,  (3)  of  its  presiding  officers,  and 
(4)  of  its  two  kinds  of  duties. 

7.  Let  the  pupil  make  written  analyses  or  outlines  of  the  fol- 

lowing topics,  to  be  nsed  by  him  in  presenting  the  topics 
orally,  or  to  be  passed  in  to  the  teacher  :  — 

a.  What  changes  took  place  in  the  government  of  the  shire 
after  the  Norman  Conquest  ? 

h.  Trace  the  development  of  the  coroner's  office. 

c.  Give  an  account  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  and  the  courts 

held  by  them. 

d.  Show  what  applications  the  English  settlers  in  Massachu- 

setts made  of  their  knowledge  of  the  English  county. 

§  2.  TJie  Modern  County  in  3fassachnsetts. 

The  modern  county  system  of  Massachusetts  may 
now  be  very  briefly  described.  The  county,  like  the 
town,  is  a  corporation  ;  it  can  hold  property  and  sue  or 
be  sued.  It  builds  the  court-house  and  jail,  and  keeps 
them  in  repair.  I'he  town  in  which  these  buildings 
are  placed  is  called,  as  in  England,  the  shire  town. 

In  each  county  three  couimissioners  are  elected  an- 


com- 
missioners. 


MODERN  COUNTY  IN  MASSACHUSETTS.       55 

nually  by  the  people.  Their  term  of  service  is  three 
years,  and  one  goes  out  each  year.  These  coinaiis- 
sioners  represent  the  county  in  law-suits,  as  the  select- 
men represent  the  town.  They  "  apportion  the  county 
county  taxes  among-  the  towns ;  "  "  lay  out, 
alter,  and  discontinue  highways  within  the  count}' ; " 
"  have  charge  of  houses  of  correction ; "  and  erect 
and  keep  in  repair  the  county  buildings.^ 

The  revenues  of  the  county  are  derived  partly  from 
taxation  and   partly  from  the  payment  of  fines  and 
costs  in  the  courts.     These  revenues  are  re-  county 
ceived  and  disbursed  by  the  county  treasurer,   *'"ea'S"ier. 
who  is  elected  by  the  people  for  a  term  of  three  years. 

The  Superior  Court  of  the  state  holds  at  least  two 
sessions  annually  in  each  county,  and  tries  civil  and 
criminal  causes.  There  is  also  in  each  county  a  pro- 
bate court  with  jurisdiction  over  all  matters 
relating  to  wills,  administration  of  estates, 
and  appointment  of  guardians  ;  it  also  acts  as  a  court 
of  insolvency.  The  custody  of  wills  and  documents 
relating  to  the  business  of  this  court  is  in  the  hands 
of  an  officer  known  as  the  register  of  probate,  who  is 
elected  by  the  people  for  a  term  of  five  years. 

To  preserve  the  records  of  all  land-titles  and  trans- 
fers of  land  within  the  county,  all  deeds  and  mort- 
gages are  regristered  in  an  office  in  the  shire 

11  .  1  .  Shire  town 

town,  usually  within  or  attached  to  the  court-  and  court- 
house.    The  register  of  deeds  is  an  officer 
elected  by  the  people  for  a  term  of  three  years.     In 
counties  where  there  is  much  business  there  may  be 
more  than  one. 

Justices  of  the  peace  are  appointed  by  the  governor 
for  a  term  of  seven  years,  and  the  appoint-  justices  of 
meiit  may  be  renewed.    Their  functions  have  ^^^^^'^'^ 
^  Martin's  Civil  GovernmeM,  p.  197. 


56  THE   COUNTY. 

been  greatly  curtailed,  and  now  amount  to  little  more 
than  administering  oaths,  and  in  some  cases  issviing 
warrants  and  taking  bail.  They  may  join  j^ersons  in 
marriage,  and,  when  specially  commissioned  as  "•  trial 
justices,"  have  criminal  jurisdiction  over  sundry  petty 
offences. 

The  sheriff  is  elected  by  the  people  for  a  term  of 

three  years.     He  may  appoint  deputies,  for  whom  he 

is  responsible,  to  assist  him  in  his  work.     He  must 

attend   all   county  courts,  and    the   meetings   of  the 

county    commissioners    whenever    required. 

The  sheriff.       ^-^  •     n*  •   i  n  i         i 

He  must  iniiict,  either  personally  or  by  dep- 
uty, the  sentence  of  the  court,  whether  it  be  fine,  im- 
prisonment, or  death.  He  is  responsible  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  jaeace  within  the  county,  and  to  this  end 
must  pursue  criminals  and  may  arrest  disorderly  per- 
sons. If  he  meets  with  resistance  he  may  call  out 
the  posse  comitatus ;  if  the  resistance  grows  into 
insurrection  he  may  apply  to  the  governor  and  obtain 
the  aid  of  the  state  militia  ;  if  the  insurrection  proves 
too  formidable  to  be  thus  dealt  with,  the  governor 
may  in  his  behalf  apply  to  the  president  of  the  United 
States  for  aid  from  the  regular  army.  In  this  way 
the  force  that  may  be  drawn  upon,  if  necessary,  for 
the  supj)ression  of  disorder  in  a  single  locality,  is 
practically  unlimited  and  irresistible. 

We  have  now  obtained  a  clear  outline  view  of  the 
township  and  county  in  themselves  and  in  their  rela- 
tion to  one  another,  with  an  occasional  glimpse  of  their 
relation  to  the  state ;  in  so  far,  at  least,  as  such  a 
view  can  be  gained  from  a  reference  to  the  history  of 
England  and  of  Massachusetts.  We  must  next  trace 
the  development  of  local  government  in  other  parts  of 
the  United  States ;  and  in  doing  so  we  can  advance 
at  somewhat  quicker  pace,  not  because  our  subject 


THE   OLD    VIRGINIA    COUNTY.  57 

becomes  in  any  wise  less  important  or  less  interesting, 
but  because  we  have  already  marked  out  the  ground 
and  said  things  of  general  application  which  will  not 
need  to  be  said  over  again. 

,  QUESTIONS    ON   THE    TEXT. 

Give  an  account  of  the  modern  county  in  Massachusetts  under 
the  following  heads  :  — 

1.  The  county  a  corporation. 

2.  The  county  commissioners  and  their  duties. 

3.  The  county  treasurer  and  his  duties. 

4.  The  courts  held  in  a  county. 

5.  The  shire  town  and  the  court-house. 

6.  The  register  of  deeds  and  his  duties. 

7.  Justices  of  the  peace  and  trial  justices. 

8.  The  sheriff  and  his  duties. 

9.  The  force  at  the  sheriff's  disposal  to  suppress  disorder. 

§  3.  Tlie  Old  Virginia  County. 

By  common  consent  of  historians,  the  two  most  dis- 
tinctive and  most  characteristic  lines  of  development 
which  English  forms  of  government  have  followed,  in 
proj^agating  themselves  throughout  the  United  States, 
are  the  two  lines  that  have  led  through  New  England 
on  the  one  hand  and  through  Virginia  on  the  other. 
We  have  seen  what  shape  local  government  assumed 
in  New  England  ;  let  us  now  observe  what  shape  it 
assumed  in  the  Old  Dominion. 

The  first  point  to  be  noticed  in  the  early  settlement 
of  Virginia  is  that  people  did  not  live  so  near  together 
as  in  New  England.  This  was  because  tobacco,  culti- 
vated on  large  estates,  was  a  source  of  wealth.  To- 
bacco drew  settlers  to  Virginia  as  in  later 
days  gold  drew  settlers   to    California  and  sparsely 

A  T  mi  •  •        ^     settled. 

Australia.       ihey   came    not    m    organized 
groups  or  congregations,  but  as  a  multitude  of  indi- 
viduals.    Land  was  wanted  to  individunls,  nnd  some- 


58  THE   COUNTY. 

times  these  grants  were  of  enormous  extent.  "  John 
Boiling,  who  died  in  1757,  left  an  estate  of  40,000 
acres,  and  this  is  not  mentioned  as  an  extraordinary 
amount  of  land  for  one  man  to  own."  ^  From  an 
early  j^eriod  it  was  customary  to  keep  these  great 
estates  together  by  entailing  them,  and  this  continued 
until  entails  were  abolished  in  1776  through  the  influ- 
ence of  Thomas  Jefferson. 

A  glance  at  the  map  of  Virginia  shows  to  what  a 
remarkable  degree  it  is  intersected  by  navigable  rivers. 
This  fact  made  it  possible  for  plantations,  even  at  a 
Absence  of  long  distaucc  from  the  coast,  to  have  each 
towns.  -^j.   Q^yj-^  pi-ivate  wharf,  where  a  ship  from 

England  could  unload  its  cargo  of  tools,  cloth,  or 
furniture,  and  receive  a  cargo  of  tobacco  in  return. 
As  the  planters  were  thus  supplied  with  most  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  there  was  no  occasion  for  the  kind 
of  trade  that  builds  up  towns.  Even  in  compara- 
tively recent  times  the  development  of  town  life  in 
Virginia  has  been  very  slow.  In  1880,  out  of  246 
cities  and  towns  in  the  United  States  with  a  popula- 
tion exceeding  10,000,  there  were  only  six  in  Virginia. 

The  cultivation  of  tobacco  upon  large  estates  caused 
a  great  demand  for  cheap  labour,  and  this  was  supplied 
partly  by  bringing  negro  slaves  from  Africa,  partly 
by  bringing  criminals  from  English  jails.  The  latter 
were  sold  into  slavery  for  a  limited  term  of 
^^^^^'  years,  and  were  known  as  "  indentured  white 
servants."  So  great  was  the  demand  for  labour  that 
it  became  customary  to  kidnap  poor  friendless  wretches 
on  the  streets  of  seaport  towns  in  England  and  ship 
them  off  to  Virginia  to  be  sold  into  servitude.  At 
first  these  white   servants  were  more   numerous  than 

^  Edward  Chamiiiig',  "  Town  and  County  Government,"  in 
Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies,  vol.  ii.  p.  467. 


THE   OLD    VIRGINIA    COUNTY.  59 

the  negroes,  but  before  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century  the  blacks  had  come  to  be  much  the  more  nu- 
merous. 

In  this  rural  community  the  owners  of  plantations 
came  from  the  same  classes  of  society  as  the   settlers 
of  New  England  ;  they  were  for  the  most  part  country 
squires  and  yeomen.    But  while  in  New  Eng-  „   .  ,    ^j 
land    there    was   no  lower   class   of    society  tion  ot  set- 

,         tiers. 

sharply  marked  off  from  the  upper,  on  the 
other  hand  in  Virginia  there  was  an  insurmountable 
distinction  between  the  owners  of  plantations  and  the 
so-called  "  mean  whites "  or  "  white  trash."  This 
class  was  originally  formed  of  men  and  women  who 
had  been  indentured  white  servants,  and  was  increased 
by  such  shiftless  people  as  now  and  then  found  their 
way  to  the  colony,  but  could  not  win  estates  or  ob- 
tain social  recognition.  With  such  a  sharp  division 
between  classes,  an  aristocratic  type  of  society  was 
developed  in  Virginia  as  naturally  as  a  democratic 
type  was  developed  in  New  England. 

In  Virginia  there  were  no  town-meetings.  The  dis- 
tances between  plantations  cooperated  with  the  dis- 
tinction between  classes  to  prevent  the  growth  of  such 
an  institution.  The  English  parish,  with  its  Virginia  par- 
churchwardens  and  vestry  and  clerk,  was  re-  '^'"'^" 
produced  in  Virginia  under  the  same  name,  but  with 
some  noteworthy  peculiarities.  If  the  whole  body  of 
ratepayers  had  assembled  in  vestry  meeting,  to  enact 
by-laws  and  assess  taxes,  the  course  of  development 
would  have  been  like  that  of  the  New  England  town- 
meeting.  But  instead  of  this  the  vestry,  which  exer- 
cised the  chief  authority  in  the  parish,  was  composed 
of  twelve  chosen  men.  This  was  not  government  by  a 
primary  assembly,  it  was  representative  government. 
At  first  th  '  twelve  vestrymen  were  elected  by  the  peo- 


GO  THE   COUNTY. 

pie  of  the  parish,  and  thus   resembled  the   selectmen 
of  New   England  ;  but  after  a  while  "•  they  obtained 

the  power  of  filling  vacancies  in  their  own 
a  close  number,"  so  that  they  became  what  is  called 

a  "  close  corporation,"  and  the  people  had 
nothing  to  do  with  choosing  them.  Strictly  speaking, 
that  was  not  representative  government ;  it  was  a  step 
on  the  road  that  leads  towards  oligarchical  or  despotic 
government. 

It  was  the  vestry,  thus  constituted,  that  apportioned 
the  parish  taxes,  appointed  the  churchwardens,  pre- 
Powers  of  scutcd  the  minister  for  induction  into  office, 
the  vestry,  ^^^  actcd  as  ovcrsccrs  of  the  poor.  The 
minister  presided  in  all  vestry  meetings.  His  salary 
was  jiaid  in  tobacco,  and  in  1696  it  was  fixed  by  law 
at  16,000  pounds  of  tobacco  yearly.  In  many  parishes 
the  churchwardens  were  the  collectors  of  the  parish 
taxes.  The  other  officers,  such  as  the  sexton  and  the 
parish  clerk,  were  appointed  either  by  the  minister  or 
by  the  vestry. 

With  the  local  government  thus  administered,  we 
see  that  the  larger  part  of  the  people  had  little  di- 
I'ectly  to  do.  Nevertheless  in  these  small  neighbour- 
hoods government  was  in  full  sight  of  the  people.  Its 
proceedings  went  on  in  broad  daylight  and  were  sus- 
tained by  public  sentiment.  As  Jefferson  said,  "  The 
vestrymen  are  usually  the  most  discreet  farmers,  so 
distributed  through  the  parish  that  every  part  of  it 
may  be  under  the  immediate  eye  of  some  one  of  them. 
They  are  well  acquainted  with  the  details  and  economy 
of  private  life,  and  they  find  sufficient  inducements  to 
execute  their  charge  well,  in  their  philanthropy,  in  the 
approbation  of  their  neighbours,  and  the  distinction 
which  that  gives  them."  ^ 

^  See  Howard,  Local  Constitutional  Histortj  of  tho  United  Statex, 
vol.  i.  p.  122. 


THE   OLD    VIRGINIA    COUNTY.  Gl 

The  difference,  however,  between  the  New  England 
township  and  the  Virginia  parish,  in  respect  of  self- 
government,  was  striking  enough.  We  have  now  to 
note  a  further  difference.  In  New  England,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  township  was  the  unit  of  representation 
in  the  colonial  legislature  ;  but  in  Virginia  the  parish 
was  not  the  unit  of  representation.  The  county  was 
that  unit.  In  the  colonial  legislature  of  Vir-  The  county 
ginia  the  representatives  sat  not  for  parishes,  of'represen- 
but  for  counties.  The  difference  is  very  sig-  *^*'°°- 
nificant.  As  the  political  life  of  New  England  was 
in  a  manner  built  up  out  of  the  political  life  of  the 
towns,  so  the  political  life  of  Virginia  was  built  up 
out  of  the  political  life  of  the  counties.  This  was 
partly  because  the  vast  plantations  were  not  grouped 
about  a  compact  village  nucleus  like  the  small  farms 
at  the  North,  and  partly  because  there  was  not  in  Vir- 
ginia that  Puritan  theory  of  the  church  according  to 
which  each  congregation  is  a  self-governing  democ- 
racy. The  conditions  which  made  the  New  England 
to^Ti-meeting  were  absent.  The  only  alternative  was 
some  kind  of  representative  government,  and  for  this 
the  county  was  a  small  enough  area.  The  county  in 
Virginia  was  much  smaller  than  in  Massachusetts  or 
Connecticut.  In  a  few  instances  the  county  consisted 
of  only  a  single  parish ;  in  some  cases  it  was  divided 
into  two  parishes,  but  oftener  into  three  or  more. 

In  Virginia,  as  in  England  and  in  New  England, 
the  county  was  an  area  for  the  administration  of  justice. 
There  were  usually  in  each  county  eight  ius- 

''  11.  -^        °  ■"  ,         The  county 

tices  01  the  peace,  and  their  court  was  the  court  was 

c      1        /^  o         •  •       "n  virtually  a 

counterpart  oi  the  Quarter  oessions  in  Eng-  close  corpo- 
land.    They  were  appointed  by  the  governor, 
but  it  was  customary  for  them  to  nominate  candidates 
for  the  governor  to   appoint,  so   that  praeti<^al]y   the 


62  THE   COUNTY. 

court  filled  its  own  vacancies  and  was  a  close  corpora- 
tion, like  the  parish  vestry.  Such  an  arrangement 
tended  to  keep  the  general  supervision  and  control  of 
thing's  in  the  hands  of  a  few  families. 

This  county  court  usually  met  as  often  as  once  a 
month  in  some  convenient  spot  answering  to  the  shire 
town  of  England  or  New  England.  More  often  than 
not  the  place  originally  consisted  of  the  court-house 
and  very  little  else,  and  was  named  accordingly  from 
the  name  of  the  county,  as  Hanover  Court  House  or 
Fairfax  Court  House  ;  and  the  small  shire  towns  that 
have  grown  up  in  such  spots  often  retain  these  names 
The  county  ^^  the  present  day.  Such  names  occur  com- 
Cmirr  monly  in  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  and  South 

House.  Carolina,  very  rarely  in    Kentucky,   North 

Carolina,  and  Alabama,  and  nowhere  else  in  the 
United  States.^  Their  number  has  diminished  from 
the  tendency  to  omit  the  phrase  "  Court  House,"  leav- 
ing the  name  of  the  county  for  that  of  the  shire  town, 
as  for  example  in  Culpeper,  Va.  In  New  England  the 
process  of  naming  has  been  just  the  reverse  ;  as  in 
Hartford  County,  Conn.,  or  Worcester  County,  Mass., 
which  have  taken  their  names  from  the  shire  towns. 
In  this,  as  in  so  many  cases,  whole  chapters  of  history 
are  wrapped  up  in  geographical  naiucs.^ 

The  county  court  in  Virginia  had  jurisdiction  in 
criminal  actions  not  involving  peril  of  life  or  limb, 
and  in  civil  suits  where  the  sum  at  stake  exceeded 

1  In  Mitchell's  Atlas,  1883,  the  number  of  cases  is  in  Va.  38, 
W.  Va.  13,  S.  C.  IG,  N.  C.  2,  Ala.  1,  Ky.  1. 

2  A  few  of  the  oldest  Virginia  counties,  organized  as  such  in 
1634,  had  arisen  from  the  spreading  and  tliinning  of  single  set- 
tlements originally  intended  to  he  cities  and  named  accordingly. 
Hence  the  curious  names  (at  first  siglit  unintelligible)  of  "  James 
City  County,"  and  "  Charles  City  County." 


THE   OLD    VIRGINIA    COUNTY.  63 

twenty-five  shillings.  Smaller  suits  could  be  tried  by 
a  single  justice.  The  court  also  had  charge  Powers  of 
of  the  probate  and  administration  of  wills.  "'^  court. 
The  court  appointed  its  own  clerk,  who  kept  the 
county  records.  It  superintended  the  construction  and 
repair  of  bridges  and  highways,  and  for  this  purpose 
di\dded  the  county  into  "  precincts,"  and  apj)ointed 
annuallj^  for  each  precinct  a  highway  surveyor.  The 
court  also  seems  to  have  appointed  constables,  one  for 
each  precinct.  The  justices  could  themselves  act  as 
coroners,  but  annually  two  or  more  coroners  for  each 
parish  were  appointed  by  the  governor.  As  we  have 
seen  that  the  parish  taxes  —  so  much  for  salaries  of 
minister  and  clerk,  so  much  for  care  of  church  build- 
ings, so  much  for  relief  of  the  poor,  etc.  —  were  com- 
puted and  assessed  by  the  vestry  ;  so  the  county  taxes, 
for  care  of  court-house  and  jail,  roads  and  bridges, 
coroner's  fees,  and  allowances  to  the  representatives 
sent  to  the  colonial  legislature,  were  comjjuted  and 
assessed  by  the  county  court.  The  general  taxes  for 
the  colony  were  estimated  by  a  committee  of  the  legis- 
lature, as  well  as  the  county's  share  of  the  colony 
tax.  The  taxes  for  the  county,  and  sometimes  the 
taxes  for  the  parish  also,  were  collected  by  the  sheriff. 
They  were  usually  paid,  not  in  money,  but  in  tobacco  ; 
and  the  sheriff    was  the  custodian   of    this 

.  The  sheriff. 

tobacco,  responsible  for  its  proper  disposal. 
The  sheriff  was  thus  not  only  the  officer  for  executing 
the  judgments  of  the  court,  but  he  was  also  county 
treasurer  and  collector,  and  thus  exercised  powers  al- 
most as  great  as  those  of  the  sheriff  in  England  in  the 
twelfth  century.  He  also  presided  over  elections  for 
representatives  to  the  legislature.  It  is  interesting  to 
observe  how  this  very  important  officer  was  (ihosen. 
"  Each  year  the  court  presented  the  names  of  three  of 


64  THE   COUNTY. 

its  members  to  the  governor,  who  appointed  one,  gen- 
erally the  senior  justice,  to  be  the  sheriff  of  the  county 
for  the  ensuing  year."  ^  Here  again  we  see  this  close 
corporation,  the  county  court,  keeping  the  control  of 
things  within  its  own  hands. 

One  other  important  county  officer  needs  to  be  men- 
tioned. We  have  seen  that  in  early  New  England 
each  town  had  its  train-band  or  company  of  militia, 
and  that  the  companies  in  each  county  united  to  form 
the  county  regiuient.  In  Virginia  it  was  just  the  other 
way.  Each  county  raised  a  certain  number  of  troops, 
and  because  it  was  not  convenient  for  the  men  to  go 
many  miles  from  home  in  assembling  for  purposes  of 
drill,  the  county  was  subdivided  into  military  districts, 
each  with  its  company,  according  to  rules  laid  down 
by  the  governor.  The  military  command  in  each 
The  county  couuty  was  vestcd  in  the  county  lieutenant, 
lieutenant,  ^n  officer  answering  in  many  respects  to  the 
lord  lieutenant  of  the  English  shire  at  that  period. 
Usually  he  was  a  member  of  the  governor's  council, 
and  as  such  exercised  sundry  judicial  functions.  He 
bore  the  honorary  title  of  "  colonel,"  and  was  to  some 
extent  regarded  as  the  governor's  deputy ;  but  in  later 
times  his  duties  were  confined  entirely  to  military 
matters.^ 

If  now  we  sum  up  the  contrasts  between  local  gov- 
ernment in  Virginia  and  that  in  New  England,  we 
observe : — 

1.  That  in  New  England  the  management  of  local 
affairs  was  mostly  in  the  hands  of  town  officers,  the 

1  Edward  Channing,  op.  cit.  p.  478. 

2  For  an  excellent  account  of  local  government  in  Virginia 
before  the  Revolution,  see  Howard,  Local  Const.  Hist,  of  the  U. 
S.,  vol.  i.  pp.  388-407  ;  also  Edward  Ingle  in  Johns  Hopkins 
Univ.  Studies,  III.,  ii.-iii. 


THE   OLD    VIRGINIA    COUNTY.  G5 

county  being  superadded  for  certain  jjurposes,  chiefly 
judicial ;  while  in  Virginia  the  management  was  chiefly 
in  the  hands  of  comity  officers,  though  certain  func- 
tions, chiefly  ecclesiastical,  were  reserved  to  the  parish. 

2.  That  in  New  England  the  local  magistrates  were 
almost  always,  with  the  exception  of  justices,  chosen 
by  the  people ;  while  in  Virginia,  though  some  of 
them  were  nominally  appointed  by  the  governor,  yet 
in  practice  they  generally  contrived  to  appoint  them- 
selves —  in  other  words  the  local  boards  practically 
filled  their  owni  vacancies  and  were  self-perpetuating. 

These  differences  are  striking  and  profound.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that,  as  Thomas  Jefferson  clearly 
saw,  in  the  long  run  the  interests  of  political  liberty 
are  much  safer  under  the  New  England  system  than 
under  the  Virginia  system.  Jefferson  said,  Jefferson's 
"  Those  wards,  called  townships  in  New  Eng-  t^vuship^ 
land,  are  the  vital  principle  of  their  govern-  government. 
ments,  and  have  proved  themselves  the  wisest  inven- 
tion ever  devised  by  the  wit  of  man  for  the  perfect 
exercise  of  self-government,  and  for  its  preservation. ^ 
.  .  .  As  Cato,  then,  concluded  every  speech  with  the 
words  Carthago  dehnda  est,  so  do  I  every  opinion 
with  the  injunction :  '  Divide  the  counties  into 
wards ! '"  2 

"We  must,  however,  avoid  the  mistake  of  making 
too  much  of  this  contrast.  As  already  hinted,  in 
those  rural  societies  where  people  generally  knew  one 
another,  its  effects  w^ere  not  so  far-reaehing  as  they 
would  be  in  the  more  complicated  society  of  to-day. 
Even  though  Virginia  had  not  the  town-meeting,  "it 
had  its  familiar  court-day,"  which  "  was  a  ..court- 
holiday  for  all  the  country-side,  especially  in  '^''^•" 
the  fall  and  spring.  From  all  directions  came  in  the 
1  Jefferson's  Works,  vii.  13.  2  /^/.^  yi.  544. 


OG  THE   COUNTY. 

people  on  horseback,  in  wagons,  and  afoot.  On  the 
court-house  green  assembled,  in  indiscriminate  confu- 
sion, people  of  all  classes,  —  the  hunter  from  the  back- 
woods, the  owner  of  a  few  acres,  the  grand  proprietor, 
and  the  grinning,  heedless  negro.  Old  debts  were  set- 
tled, and  new  ones  made ;  there  were  auctions,  trans- 
fers of  property,  and,  if  election  times  were  near, 
stump-speaking."  ^ 

For  seventy  years  or  more  before  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  the  matters  of  general  public  concern, 
about  which  stump  speeches  were  made  on  Virginia 
court-days,  were  very  similar  to  those  that  were  dis- 
cussed in  Massachusetts  town-meetings  when  represen- 
tatives were  to  be  chosen  for  the  legislature.  Such 
questions  generally  related  to  some  real  or  alleged 
encroachment  upon  popular  liberties  by  the  royal  gov- 
ernor, who,  being  appointed  and  sent  from  beyond  sea, 
was  apt  to  have  ideas  and  purposes  of  his  own  that 
conflicted  with  those  of  the  people.  This  perpetual 
antagonism  to  the  governor,  who  represented  British 
imperial  interference  with  American  local  self-govern- 
ment, was  an  excellent  schooling  in  political  liberty, 
alike  for  Virginia  and  for  Massachusetts.  When  the 
stress  of  the  Revolution  came,  these  two  leading  colo- 
nies cordially  supported  each  other,  and  their  political 
characteristics  were  reflected  in  the  kind  of  achieve- 
ments for  which  each  was  especially  distinguished. 
The  Virginia  system,  concentrating  the  administration 
of  local  affairs  in  the  hands  of  a  few  (bounty  families, 

was    eminently   favourable    for    develoi)ing 
lifitMii  great   skilful  and  vigorous  leadeishii).     And  while 

in  the  history  of  Massachusetts  during  the 
Kevobition  we  are  chiefly  impressed  with  the  wonderful 
degree  in  which  the  mass  of  the  people  exhibited  the 
^  Ingle,  loc.  cit. 


THE   OLD    VIRGINIA    COUNTY.  07 

kind  of  political  training  that  nothing  in  the  world  ex- 
cept the  habit  o£  parliamentary  discussion  can  impart ; 
on  the  other  hand,  Virginia  at  that  time  gave  us  — 
in  Washington,  Jefferson,  Henry,  Madison,  and  Mar- 
shall, to  mention  no  others  —  such  a  group  of  consum- 
mate leaders  as  the  world  has  seldom  seen  equalled. 

QUESTIONS  ON   THE   TEXT. 

1 .  Why  was  Virginia  more  sparsely  settled  than  Massachusetts  ? 

2.  Why  was  it  that  towns  were  built  up  more  slowly  in  Virginia 

than  in  Massachusetts  ? 

3.  How  was  the  great  demand  for  labour  in  Virginia  met  ? 

4.  What  distinction  of  classes  naturally  arose  ? 

5.  Contrast  the  type  of  society  thus  developed  in  Virginia  with 

that  developed  in  New  England. 

6.  Compare  the  Virginia  parish  iu  its  earlier  government  with 

the  English  parish  from  which  it  was  naturally  copied. 

7.  Show  how  the  vestry  became  a  close  corporation. 

8.  Who  were  usually  chosen  as  vestrymen,  and  what  were  their 

powers  ? 

9.  Compare  Virginia's  unit  of   representation  in  the   colonial 

legislature  with  that  of  Massachusetts,  and  give  the  rea- 
son for  the  difference. 

10.  Describe  the  connty  court,  showing  in  particular  how  it  be- 

came a  close  corporation. 

1 1 .  Bring  out  some  of  the  history  wrapped  up  in  the  names  of 

county  seats. 

12.  AVhat  were  the  chief  powers  of  the  county  court  ? 

13.  Describe  the  assessment  of  the  various  taxes. 

14.  What  wei'e  the  sheriff's  duties  ? 

15.  Describe  the  organization  and  command  of   the  militia  in 

each  county. 

1 6.  Sum  up  the  differences  between  local  government  in  Virginia 

and  that  in  New  England  (1)  as  to  the  management  of 
local  affairs  and  (2)  as  to  the  choice  of  local  officers. 

17.  What  did  Jefferson  think  of  the  principle  of  township  gov- 

ernment ? 

18.  What  was  the  equivalent  iu  Virginia  of  the   New  England 

town-meeting  ? 

19.  What  was  the  value  of  this  frequent  assembling  ? 

20.  What  schooling  in  political  liberty  before  the  Revolution  did 

Virginia  and  Massachusetts  alike  have  ? 


68  THE   COUNTY 

21.  What   was    an    impressite    feature    of    the    New   England 

system  ? 

22.  What  was  an  impressive  feature  of  the  Virginia  system  ? 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS   AND   DIRECTIONS, 

1 .  How  many  counties  are  there  in  your  state  ? 

2.  Name  and  place  them  if  the  number  is  small. 

3.  In  what  county  do  you  live  ? 

4.  Give  its  dimensions.     Are  they  satisfactory  ?     Why  ? 

5.  Give  its  boundaries. 

6.  Is  there  anything  interesting  in  the  meaning  or  origin  of  its 

name  ? 

7.  How  many  towns  and  cities  does  it  contain  ? 

8.  What  is  the  county  seat  ?    Is  it  conveniently  situated  ?    Rea- 

sons for  thinking  so  ? 

9.  If  convenient,  visit  any  county  building,  note  the  uses  to 

which  it  is  put,  and  report  such  facts  as  may  be  thus 
found  out. 

10.  Obtain  a  deed,  no  matter  how  old,  and  answer  these  ques- 

tions about  it  :  — 
a.  Is  it  recorded  ?     If  so,  where  ? 
h.  Would  it  be  easy  for  you  to  find  the  record  ? 

c.  Why  should  such  a  record  be  kept  ? 

d.  What  officer  has  charge  of  such  records  ? 

e.  What  sort  of  work  must  he  and  his  assistants  do  ? 

f.  The  place  of  such  records  is  called  what  ? 

g.  What  sort  of  facilities  for  the  public  should  such  a  place 
have  ?  What  safety  precautions  should  be  observed 
there  ? 

h.  Why  should  the  county  keep  such  records  rather  than  the 

city  or  the  town  ? 
i.  Is  there  a  record  of  the  deed  by  which  the  preceding  owner 

came  into  possession  of  the  property  ? 
j.  What  sort  of  title  did  the   first  owner  have  ?     Is  there 
any  record  of  it  ?     Was  the  first  owner  Indian  or  Euro- 
pean ? 
(The  teacher  might  obtain  a  deed  and  base  a  class  exercise 
upon  it.     It  is  easy  with  a  deed  for  a  text  to  lead  pupils  to  see 
the  common-sense  basis  of  an  important  county  institution,  and 
thereafter  to  give  very  sensible  views  as  to  what  it  should  be, 
even  if  it  is  not  fully  known  what  it  is.) 

1 1 .  Is  there  a  local  court  for  your  town  or  city  ? 


THE   OLD    VIRGINIA    COUNTY.  69 

12.  How  do  its  cases  compare  in  ujjigaitude  with  those  tried  at 

the  coiiut}"^  seat  ? 

13.  If  a  man  steals  and  is  prosecuted,  who  becomes  the  plaintiff  ? 

14.  If  a  man  owes  and  is  sued  for  debt,  who  becomes  the  plain- 

tiff? 

15.  What  is  a  criminal  action  ? 

16.  What  is  a  civil  action  ? 

17.  What  is  the  result  to  the  defendant  in  the  former  case,  if  he 

is  convicted  ? 

18.  What  is  the  result  to  the  defendant  in  the  latter  case,  if  the 

decision  is  against  him  ? 

19.  Is  lying  a  crime  or  a  sin?     May  it  ever  become  a  crime  ? 

20.  Are  courts  of  any  service  to  the  vast  numbers  who  are  never 

brought  before  them  ?     Why  ? 

21.  May  good  citizens  always  keep  out  of  the  courts  if  they 

choose  ?     Is  it  their  duty  always  to  keep  out  of  them  ? 

22.  Is  there  any  aversion  among  people  that  you  know  to  being 

brought  before  the  courts  ?     Why  ? 

23.  What  is  the  purpose  of  a  jail  ?     Is  this  purpose  realized  in 

fact? 

24.  Should  a  disturbance  of  a  serious  nature  break  out  in  your 

town,  whose  immediate  duty  would  it  be  to  quell  it  ? 
Suppose  this  duty  should  prove  too  difficult  to  perform, 
then  what  ? 

25.  What  is  the  attitude  of  good  citizenship  towards  officers  who 

are  trying  to  enforce  the  laws  ?  What  is  the  attitude  of 
good  citizenship  if  the  laws  are  not  satisfactory  or  if  the 
officers  are  indiscreet  in  enforcing  them  ? 

26.  Suppose  a  man  of  property  dies  and  leaves  a  will,  what  trou- 

bles are  possible  about  the  disposal  of  his  property  ?  Sup- 
pose he  leaves  no  will,  what  troubles  are  possible  ? 
Whose  duty  is  it  to  exercise  control  over  such  matters 
and  hold  people  up  to  legal  and  honourable  conduct  in 
them  ? 

27.  What  is  an  executor  ?     What  is  an  administrator  ? 

28.  If  parents  die,  whose  duty  is  it  to  care  for  their  children  ? 

If  property  is  left  to  such  children,  are  they  free  to  use 
it  as  they  please  ?  What  has  the  county  to  do  with  such 
cases  ? 

29.  How  much  does  your  town  or  city  contribute  towards  county 

expenses  ?  How  does  this  amount  compare  with  that 
raised  by  other  towns  in  the  county  ? 


70  THE   COUNTY. 

30.  Give  the  organization  of  your  county  government. 

31.  Would  it  be  better  for  the  towns  to  do  themselves  the  work 

now  done  for  them  by  the  county  ? 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE. 


§  1.  The  County  in  its  Beginnings.  This  subject  is 
treated  in  connection  with  the  township  in  several  of  the  books 
above  mentioned.     See  especially  Howard,  Local  Const.  Hist. 

§  2.  The  Modern  County  in  Massachusetts.  There  is 
a  good  account  in  Martin's  Text  Book  above  mentioned. 

§  3.  The  Old  Virginia  County.  The  best  account  is  in 
J.  H.  U.  Studies,  III.,  ii.-iii.  Edward  Ingle,  Virginia  Local  In- 
stitutions. 

In  dealing  with  the  questions  on  page  69,  both  teachers  and 
pupils  will  find  Dole's  Talks  about  Law  (Boston,  1887)  extremely 
valuable  and  helpful. 


CHAPTER  rV. 

TOWNSHIP    AND    COUNTY. 

§  1.  Various  Local  Systems. 

We  have  now  completed  our  outline  sketch  of  town 
and  county  government  as  illustrated  in  New  England 
on  the  one  hand  and  in  Virginia  on  the  other.  There 
are  some  imjjortaut  points  in  the  early  history  of  local 
government  in  other  portions  of  the  original  thirteen 
states,  to  which  we  must  next  call  attention  ;  and  then 
we  shall  be  prepared  to  understand  the  manner  in 
which  our  great  western  country  has  been  organized 
under  civil  government.  We  must  first  say  something 
about  South  Carolina  and  Maryland. 

South  Carolina  wass  settled  from  half  a  century  to  a 
century  later  than    Massachusetts   and  Vir- 
ginia, and  by  two  distinct  streams  of  immi-  in  south 

°         .  •'  Carolina. 

gration.  The  lowlands  near  the  coast  were 
settled  by  Englishmen  and  by  French  Huguenots,  but 
the  form  of  government  was  purely  English.  There 
were  parishes,  as  in  Virginia,  but  popular  election 
played  a  greater  part  in  them.  The  vestrymen  were 
elected  yearly  by  all  the  taxpayers  of  the  parish. 
The  minister  was  also  elected  by  his  people,  and  after 
1719  each  parish  sent  its  representatives  to  the  colo- 
nial legislature,  though  in  a  few  instances  two  pai*- 
ishes  were  joined  together  for  the  purpose  of  choosing 
representatives.     The    sj'stem  was  thus  more   demo- 


72  TOWNSHIP  AND   COUNTY. 

cratic  than  in  Virginia  ;  and  in  this  connection  it  is 
worth  while  to  observe  that  parochial  libraries  and 
free  schools  were  established  as  early  as  1712,  much 
earlier  than  in  Virginia. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  a 
very  different  stream  of  immigration,  coming  mostly 
along  the  slope  of  the  Alleghanies  from  Virginia  and 
Pennsjdvania,  and  consisting  in  great  part  of  Ger- 
mans, Scotch  Higlilanders,  and  Scotch-Irish,  peopled 
the  upland  western  regions  of  South  Carolina.  For 
some  time  this  territory  had  scarcely  any  civil  organi- 
zation. It  was  a  kind  of  "  wild  West."  There  were 
as  yet  no  counties  in  the  colony.  There  was  just  one 
The  back  sheriff  for  the  whole  colony,  who  "  held  his 
country.  officc  by  patent  from  the  crown."  ^  A  court 
sat  in  Charleston,  but  the  arm  of  justice  was  hardly 
long  enough  to  reach  offenders  in  the  mountains.  "  To 
punish  a  horse-thief  or  prosecute  a  debtor  one  was 
sometimes  compelled  to  travel  a  distance  of  several 
hundred  miles,  and  be  subjected  to  all  the  dangers  and 
delays  incident  to  a  wild  country."  When  people 
cannot  get  justice  in  what  in  civilized  countries  is  the 
regular  way,  they  will  get  it  in  some  irregular  way. 
So  these  mountaineers  began  to  form  themselves  into 
bands  known  as  "  regulators,"  quite  like  the  "  vigi- 
lance committees  "  formed  for  the  same  purposes  in 
California  a  hundred  years  later.  For  thieves  and 
murderers  the  "  regulators  "  provided  a  speedy  trial, 
and  the  nearest  tree  served  as  a  gallows. 

In  order  to  put  a  stop  to  tliis  lynch  law,  the  legisla- 
ture in  1768  divided  the  back  country  into  districts, 
_    ,  each  with  its  sheriff'  and  court-house,  and  the 

Tlie  dis-  ,  ••111 

trictBys-       ludoes  wcrc   sent  on  circuit  through   these 
districts.     The  upland  region  with  its  dis- 
^  B.  J.  Ramagc,  in  Johns  Hopkins  Univ.  Studies,  T.,  xii. 


VARIOUS   LOCAL   SYSTEMS.  73 

trlcts  was  thus  very  differently  organized  from  the 
lowland  region  with  its  parishes,  and  the  effect  was  for 
a  while  almost  like  dividing  South  Carolina  into  two 
states.  At  first  the  districts  were  not  allowed  to 
choose  their  own  sheriffs,  but  in  course  of  time  they 
acquired  this  privilege.  It  was  difficult  to  apportion 
the  representation  in  the  state  legislature  so  as  to  bal- 
ance evenly  the  districts  in  the  west  against  the  par- 
ishes in  the  east,  and  accordingly  there  was  much 
dissatisfaction,  esj)ecially  in  the  west  which  did  not 
get  its  fair  share.  In  1786  the  capital  was  moved 
from  Charleston  to  Columbia  as  a  concession  to  the 
back  country,  and  in  1808  a  kind  of  compromise  was 
effected,  in  such  wise  that  the  uplands  secured  a  per- 
manent majority  in  the  house  of  representatives,  while 
the  lowlands  retained  control  of  the  senate.  The  two 
sections  had  each  its  separate  state  treasurer,  and  this 
kind  of  double  government  lasted  until  the  Civil 
War. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  "  the  parishes  were  abol- 
ished and  the  district  system  was  extended  to  the  low 
country."  But  soon  afterward,  by  the  new  -rj,g  ^^j. 
constitution  of  1868,  the  districts  were  abol-  IZ^uu^ 
ished  and  the  state  was  divided  into  34  coun-  ''°^^^y- 
ties,  each  of  which  sends  one  senator  to  the  state  sen- 
ate, while  they  send  rej)resentatives  in  proportion  to 
their  population.  In  each  county  the  people  elect 
three  county  commissioners,  a  school  commissioner,  a 
sheriff,  a  judge  of  probate,  a  clerk,  and  a  coroner.  In 
one  respect  the  South  Carolina  county  is  quite  pe- 
culiar :  it  has  no  organization  for  judicial  purposes. 
"  The  counties,  like  their  institutional  predecessor  the 
district,  are  grouped  into  judicial  circuits,  and  a  judge 
is  elected  by  the  legislature  for  each  circuit.  Trial 
justices  are  appointed  by  the  governor  for  a  term  of 
two  years." 


74  TOWNSHIP  AND   COUNTY. 

This  system,  like  the  simple  county  system  every- 
where, is  a  representative  system  ;  the  people  take  no 
direct  part  in  the  management  of  affairs.  In  one  re- 
spect it  seems  obviously  to  need  amendment.  In  states 
where  county  government  has  grown  up  naturally, 
after  the  Virginia  fashion,  the  county  is  apt  to  be 
much  smaller  than  in  states  where  it  is  simply  a  dis- 
trict embracing  several  township  governments.  Thus 
the  average  size  of  a  county  in  Massachusetts  is  557 
square  miles,  and  in  Connecticut  594  square  miles  ; 
but  in  Virginia  it  is  only  383  and  in  Kentucky  307 
square  miles.  In  South  Carolina,  however,  where  the 
county  did  not  grow  up  of  itself,  but  has  been  en- 
acted, so  to  speak,  by  a  kind  of  afterthought,  it  has 
been  made  too  large  altogether.  The  average  area  of 
the  county  in  South  Carolina  is  about  1,000  square 
miles.     Charleston  County,    more    than    40 

The  coun-  .  .  i  o  r    • 

ties  are  too     mdcs  in  leno'tli  and  not  less  than  35  in  aver- 

large.  ,  , 

age  width,  is  larger  than  the  state  of  Rhode 
Island.  Such  an  area  is  much  too  extensive  for  local 
self-government.  Its  different  portions  are  too  far 
apart  to  understand  each  other's  local  wants,  or  to  act 
efficiently  toward  supplying  them  ;  and  roads,  bridges, 
and  free  schools  suffer  accordingly.  An  misuccessful 
attempt  has  been  made  to  reduce  the  size  of  the  coun- 
ties. But  what  seems  perliaps  more  likely  to  happen 
is  the  practical  division  of  the  counties  into  school  dis- 
tricts, and  the  gradual  development  of  these  school 
districts  into  something  like  self-governing  townships. 
To  this  very  interesting  point  we  shall  again  have 
occasion  to  refer. 

We  come  now  to  Maryland.  The  early  history  of 
local  institutions  in  this  state  is  a  fascinating  subject 
of  study.  None  of  the  American  colonies  had  a 
more  distinctive  character  of  its  own,  or  reproduced 


VARIOUS  LOCAL   SYSTEMS.  75 

old  English  usages  in  a  more  curious  fashion.  There 
was  much  in  colonial  Maryland,  with  its  lords  of  the 
manor,  its  bailiffs  and  seneschals,  its  courts  baron  and 
courts  leet,  to  remind  one  of  the  England  of  the  thir- 
teenth century.  But  of  these  ancient  institutions, 
long  since  extinct,  there  is  but  one  that  needs  to  be 
mentioned  in  the  present  connection.  In  Maryland 
the  earliest  form  of  civil  community  was  called,  not  a 
parish  or  township,  but  a  hundred.  This  i^ie  f,undred 
curious  designation  is  often  met  with  in  ">^"yi''^d. 
English  history,  and  the  institution  which  it  describes, 
though  now  almost  everywhere  extinct,  was  once 
almost  universal  among  men.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  the  oldest  form  of  civil  society,  which  is  still  to 
be  found  among  some  barbarous  races,  was  that  in 
which  families  were  organized  into  clans  and  clans 
into  tribes ;  and  we  saw  that  among  our  forefathers 
in  England  the  dwelling-place  of  the  clan  became  the 
township,  and  the  home  of  the  tribe  became  the  shire 
or  county.  Now,  in  nearly  all  primitive  societies  that 
have  been  studied,  we  find  a  group  that  is  larger  than 
the  clan  but  smaller  than  the  tribe,  —  or,  in  other 
words,  intermediate  between  clan  and  tribe.  Scholars 
usually  call  this  group  by  its  Greek  name, 

7  1  1        1  T  V  p        •  Clans,  broth- 

phratry,  or  "  brotherhood,  for  it  was  known  erhoods,  and 
long  ago  that  in  ancient  Greece  clans  were 
grouped  into  brotherhoods  and  brotherhoods  into 
tribes.  Among  uncivilized  people  all  over  the  world 
we  find  this  kind  of  grouping.  For  example,  a  tribe 
of  North  American  Indians  is  regularly  made  up  of 
phratries,  and  the  phratries  are  made  up  of  clans  ; 
and,  strange  as  it  might  at  first  seem,  a  good  many 
half -understood  features  of  early  Greek  and  Roman 
society  have  had  much  light  thrown  upon  them  from 
the  study  of  the  usages  of  Cherokees  and  Mohawks. 


76  TOWNSHIP   AND   COUNTY. 

Wherever  men  have  been  placed,  the  problem  of  form- 
ing civil  society  has  been  in  its  main  outlines  the  same ; 
and  in  its  earlier  stages  it  has  been  approached  in 
pretty  much  the  same  way  by  all. 

The  ancient  Romans  had  the  brotherhood,  and 
called  it  a  curia.  The  Roman  people  were  organized 
in  clans,  curies,  and  tribes.  But  for  military  purposes 
the  curia  was  called  a  century.^  because  it  furnished  a 
quota  of  one  hundred  men  to  the  army.  The  word 
century  originally  meant  a  company  of  a  hundred 
Origin  of  the  "1©^,  and  it  was  only  by  a  figure  of  speech 
hundred.  ^^^^  -^  aftcrward  came  to  mean  a  period  of 
a  hundred  years.  Now  among  all  Germanic  peoples, 
including  the  English,  the  brotherhood  seems  to  have 
been  called  the  hundred.  Our  English  forefathers 
seem  to  have  been  organized,  like  other  barbarians,  in 
clans,  brotherhoods,  and  tribes  ;  and  the  brotherhood 
was  in  some  way  connected  with  the  furnishing  a  hun- 
dred warriors  to  the  host.  In  the  tenth  century  we 
find  England  covered  with  small  districts  known  as 
hundreds.  Several  townships  together  made  a  hun- 
dred, and  several  hundreds  together  made  a  shire. 
The  hundred  was  chiefly  notable  as  the  smallest  area 
for  the  administration  of  justice.  The  hundred  court 
The  hundred  ^^^  a  representative  body,  composed  of  the 
court.  lords  of  lands  or   their   stewards,  with  the 

reeve  and  four  selected  men  and  the  parish  priest  f roni 
each  township.  There  was  a  chief  magistrate  for  the 
hundred,  known  originally  as  the  hundredman,  but 
after  the  Norman  conquest  as  the  high  constable. 

By  the  thirteenth   century  the    importance    of  the 
hundred  had    much  diminished.     The  need  for   any 
such   body,   intermediate  between  township  Decay  of  the 
and  county,  ceased  to  be  felt,  and  the  func-  i'"'^'^''^*'- 
tions  of  the  hundred  were  gradually  absorbed  by  the 


VARIOUS   LOCAL   SYSTEMS.  11 

county.  Almost  everywhere  in  England,  by  the  reign 
of  Elizabeth,  the  hundred  had  fallen  into  decay.  It 
is  curious  that  its  name  and  some  of  its  peculiarities 
should  have  been  brought  to  America,  and  should  in 
one  state  have  remained  to  the  present  day.  Some  of 
the  early  settlements  in  Virginia  were  called  hun- 
dreds, but  they  were  practically  nothing  more  than 
parishes,  and  the  name  soon  became  obsolete,  except 
upon  the  map,  where  we  still  see,  for  example,  Ber- 
muda Hundred.  But  in  Maryland  the  hundred  flour- 
ished and  became  the  political  unit,  like  the  township 
in  New  England.  The  hundred  was  the  militia  dis- 
trict, and  the  district  for  the  assessment  of  taxes.  In 
the  earliest  times  it  was  also  the  representative  dis- 
trict ;  delejrates  to  the  colonial  legislature  sat 
for  hundreds.    But  in  1654  this  was  changed,   meetings  ia 

°.      '     Maryland. 

and  representatives  were  elected  by  counties. 
The  officers  of  the  Maryland  hundred  were  the  high 
constable,  the  commander  of  militia,  t]ie  tobacco- 
viewer,  the  overseer  of  roads,  and  the  assessor  of  taxes. 
The  last-mentioned  officer  was  elected  by  the  people, 
the  others  were  aU  appointed  by  the  governor.  The 
hundred  had  also  its  assembly  of  all  the  people,  which 
was  in  many  respects  like  the  New  England  town- 
meeting.  These  hundred-meetings  enacted  by-laws, 
levied  taxes,  appointed  committees,  and  often  exhib- 
ited a  vigorous  political  life.  But  after  the  Eevolu- 
tion  they  fell  into  disuse,  and  in  1824  the  hundred 
became  extinct  in  Maryland  ;  its  organization  was 
swallowed  up  in  that  of  the  county. 

In  Delaware,  however,  the  hundred  remains  to  this 
day.  There  it  is  simply  an  imperfectly  developed 
township,  but  its  relations  with  the  county.  The  hundred 
as  they  have  stood  with  but  little  change  "^^^eiaware. 
since  1743,  ai-e  very  interesting.     Each  hundred  used 


78  TOWNSHIP  AND   COUNTY. 

to  choose  its  own  assessor  of  taxes,  and  every  year  ir 
the  month  of  November  the  assessors  from  all  the 
hundreds  used  to  meet  in  the  county  court-house,  along 
with  three  or  more  justices  of  the  peace  and  eight 
grand  jurors,  and  assess  the  taxes  for  the  ensuing- 
year.  A  month  later  they  assembled  again,  to  hear 
complaints  from  persons  who  considered  themselves 
overtaxed ;  and  having  disposed  of  this  business,  they 
proceeded  to  appoint  collectors,  one  for  each  hundred. 
This  county  assembly  was  known  as  the  "  court  of 
levy  and  appeal,"  or  more  briefly  as  the  levy  court. 
It  appointed  the  county  treasurer,  the  road 
court,  or       commissioucrs,    and    the    overseers    of    the 

representa-  ^rrrvoii 

tive  county     poor,     bmcc  1793  the  levy  court  has  been 

assembly.  -"^  i        i.  •    i  •      • 

composed  of  special  commissioners  chosen 
by  popular  vote,  but  its  essential  character  has  not 
been  altered.  As  a  thoroughly  repi-esentative  body, 
it  reminds  one  of  the  county  courts  of  the  Plantagenet 
period. 

We  next  come  to  the  great  middle  colonies,  Pennsyl- 
vania and  New  York.     The  most  noteworthy  feature 

of  local  government  in  Pennsylvania  was  the 
Pennsyiva-     general  election  of  county  officers  by  popular 

vote.  The  county  was  the  unit  of  represen- 
tation in  the  colonial  legislature,  and  on  election  days 
the  people  of  the  county  elected  at  the  same  time  their 
sheriffs,  coroners,  assessors,  and  county  commissioners. 
In  this  respect  Pennsylvania  furnished  a  model  which 
has  been  followed  by  most  of  the  states  since  the  Rev- 
olution, as  regards  the  county  governments.  It  is  also 
to  be  noted  that  before  the  lievolution,  as  Pennsyl- 
vania increased  in  pojnilation,  the  townships  began  to 
participate  in  the  work  of  government,  each  township 
choosing  its  overseers  of  the  poor,  highway  surveyors, 
and  inspectors  of  elections.^ 

^  Town-meetings  were  not  quite  unknown  in   Pennsylvania  ; 


VARIOUS   LOCAL   SYSTEMS.  (9 

New  York  had  from  the  very  beginning  the  rudi- 
ments of  an  excellent  system  of  local  self-government. 
The  Dutch  villages  had  their  assemblies,  which  under 
the  Eno'lish  rule  were  developed  into  town- 

.  1  -11  Town-meet 

meetmgs,  though  with  less  ample  powers  mgsinNew 
than  those  of  New  England.  The  govern- 
ing body  of  the  New  York  town  consisted  of  the  con- 
stable and  eight  overseers,  who  answered  in  most 
respects  to  the  selectmen  of  New  England.  Four  of 
the  overseers  were  elected  each  year  in  town-meeting, 
and  one  of  the  retiring  overseers  was  at  the  same 
time  elected  constable.  In  course  of  time  the  elec- 
tive offices  came  to  include  assessors  and  collectors, 
town  clerk,  highway  surveyors,  fence-viewers,  pound- 
masters,  and  overseers  of  the  poor.  At  first  the  town- 
meetings  seem  to  have  been  held  only  for  the  election 
of  officers,  but  they  acquired  to  a  limited  extent  the 
power  of  levying  taxes  and  enacting  by-laws.  In  1703 
a  law  was  passed  requiring  each  town  to  elect  yearly 
an  officer  to  be  known  as  the  "  supervisor," 

The  county 

whose  duty  was  "  to  compute,  ascertain,  ex-  board  of  su- 

-^  .  pervisors. 

amine,  oversee,  and  allow  the  contingent, 
publick,  and  necessary  charges  "  of  the  county.^  For 
this  purpose  the  supervisors  met  once  a  year  at  the 
county  town.  The  principle  was  the  same  as  that  of 
the  levy  court  in  Delaware.  This  board  of  supervis- 
ors was  a  strictly  representative  government,  and 
formed  a  strong  contrast  to  the  close  corporation  by 
which  county  affairs  were  administered  in  Virginia. 
The  New  York  system  is  of  especial  interest,  because 
it  has  powerfully  influenced  the  development  of  local 
institutions  throughout  the  Northwest. 

see  W.  P.  Holcomb,  "  Pennsylvania  Boroughs,"  /.  H.  U.  Studies, 
IV.,  iv. 

2  Howard,  Local  Const.  Hist.,  i.  111. 


80  TOWNSHIP  AND   COUNTY. 


QUESTIONS   ON   THE   TEXT. 

1.  Describe  the  early  local  government  of  eastern  South  Caro- 

lina. 

2.  Describe  the  early  local  government  of  western  South  Caro- 

lina. 

3.  Explain  the  difference. 

4.  What  effort  was  made  in  1768  to  put  a  stop  to  lynch  law  ? 

5.  What  difficulties  arose  from  the  attempted  adjustment  of 

1768? 

6.  What  compromises  were  made   between   the   two   sections 

down  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  War  ? 

7.  What  changes  have  been  made  iu  local  government  since  the 

Civil  War  ? 

8.  Mention  a  peculiarity  of  the  South  Carolina  county. 

9.  Compare  its  size  with  that  of  counties  in  other  states. 

10.  What  disadvantage  is  due  to  this  great  size  ? 

1 1.  What  was  the  earliest  form  of  civil  community  in  Maryland, 

and  from  what  source  did  it  come  ? 

12.  Trace  the  development  of  the  hundred  in  accordance  with 

the  following  outline  :  — 

a.  Intermediate  groups  between  clans  and  tribes. 

b.  Illustrations   from  Greece   and  the  North  American  In- 

dians. 

c.  The  Roman  century  and  the  German  hundred. 

13.  Describe  the  English  hundred  in  the  tenth  century. 

14.  Describe  tlie  hundred  court. 

15.  Describe  the  Maryland  hundred  and  its  decay. 

16.  What  is  the  relation  of  the  Delaware  hundred  to  the  county  ? 

17.  Describe  the  Delaware  levy  court. 

18.  What    were   the    prominent    features   of   the    Pennsylvania 

county  ? 

19.  Compare  the  town-meetings  of  New  York  with  tliose  of  New 

England. 

20.  What  was  the  government  of  the  New  York  county  ? 

21.  How  did  this  government  compare  with  that  of  the  Virginia 

county  ? 


SETTLEMENT   OF  THE  PUBLIC  DOMAIN.       81 

§  2.  Settlement  of  the  Public  Domain. 
The  westward  movement  of  population  in  the  United 
States  has  for  the  most  part  followed  the  parallels  of 
latitude.  Thus  Virginians  and  North  Carolinians, 
crossing  the  Alleghanies,  settled  Kentucky  and  Tennes- 
see ;  thus  people  from  New  England  filled  up  the  cen- 
tral and  northern  parts  of  New  York,  and  ^^ 

T       .  T    TTT'  •  Westward 

passed   on    into    Michioan    and  Wisconsin ;   movement  of 

■•■  •  .       1     population. 

thus  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois  received 
many  settlers  from  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  In 
the  early  times  when  Kentucky  was  settled,  the  pio- 
neer would  select  a  piece  of  land  wherever  he  liked, 
and  after  having  a  rude  survey  made,  and  the  limits 
marked  by  "  blazing  "  the  trees  with  a  hatchet,  the  sur- 
vey would  be  put  on  record  in  the  state  land-of&ce.  So 
little  care  was  taken  that  "  half  a  dozen  patents  would 
sometimes  be  given  for  the  same  tract.  Pieces  of 
land,  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  lay  between  the  patents. 
.  .  .  Such  a  system  naturally  begat  no  end  of  litiga- 
tion, and  there  remain  in  Kentucky  curious  vestiges 
of  it  "  to  this  day.^ 

Ill  order  to  avoid  such  confusion  in  the  settlement 
of  the  territory  north    of    the  Ohio   river.  Congress 
passed  the  land-ordinance  of  1785,  which  was  based 
chiefly  upon  the  suggestions  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  our  simple  and  excellent  system 
for  surveying  national  lands.     According  to  this  sys- 
tem   as  gradually  perfected,  the   government  survey- 
ors first   mark  out  a  north  and  south  line  which  is 
called  the    principal    meridian.      Twenty-  Metiiodof 
four  such  meridians  have  been  established,   thrpuuk; 
The  first  was  tlie  dividing  line  between  Ohio  ^''"'^'• 
and  Indiana ;  the  last  one  runs  through  Oregon  a  lit- 
■    1  Hinsdale,  Old  Northwest,  p.  2G1. 


82 


TOWNSHIP  AND   COUNTY. 


tie  to  the  west  of  Portland.  Ou  each  side  of  the  prin- 
cipal meridian  there  are  marked  off  subordinate  me- 
ridians called  range  lines,  six  miles  apart,  and  num- 
bered east  and  west  from  their  principal.^  Then  a 
true  parallel  of  latitude  is  drawn,  crossing  these  merid- 
ians at  right  angles.  It  is  called  the  base  line,  or 
standard  parallel.  Eleven  such  base  lines,  for  exam- 
ple, run  across  the  great  state  of  Oregon.  Finally, 
on  each  side  of  the  base  line  are  drawn  subordinate 
parallels  called  townshij)  lines,  six  miles  apart,  and 
numbered  north  and  south  from  their  base  line.     By 

1  The  following  is  a  diagram  of  the  first  principal  meridian, 
and  of  the  base  line  running  across  southern  Michigan.  A  B  is 
the  principal  meridian  ;  C  D  is  the  base  line.  The  figures  on 
the  base  line  mark  the  range  lines  ;  the  figures  on  the  principal 
meridian  mark  the  township  lines.  E  is  township  4  north  in  range 
5  east  ;  F  is  township  5  south  in  range  4  west  ;  G  is  township  3 
north  in  range  3  west. 








G 
5 





4 

E 
5 

6 

6 

5 

4 

G 



4 

3 

3 

3 

2 

2 

2 

1 

1 







1 







2 

3 



P 





4 



5 
6 

As  the  intervals  between  meridians  diminish  as  we  go   nortli- 


SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  PUBLIC  DOMAIN.       83 

these  range  lines  and  township  lines  the  whole  land  is 
thus  divided  into  townships  iust   six  miles 

.  ''  Origin  of 

square,  and  the  townships  are  all  numbered,  western 
Take,  for  example,  the  townshi]^  of  Deerfield 
in  Michigan.  That  is  the  fourth  township  north  of  the 
base  line,  and  it  is  in  the  fifth  range  east  of  the  first 
jjrincipal  meridian.  It  would  be  called  township  num- 
ber 4  north  range  5  east,  and  was  so  called  before  it 
was  settled  and  received  a  name.  Evidently  one  must 
go  24  miles  from  the  principal  meridian,  or  18  miles 
from  the  base  line,  in  order  to  enter  this  township. 
It  is  all  as  simple  as  the  numbering  of  streets  iu 
Philadelphia.^ 

ward,  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  introduce  a  correction  line, 
the  nature  of  which  will  be  seen  from  the  followinpf  diagrram:  — 


Correction  Line.. 


Base  Line. 
DLA.GRAM    OF    CORRECTION    LiNE. 


^  In  Philadelphia  the  streets  for  the  most  part  cross  each  other 
at  right  angles  and  at  equal  distances,  so  that  the  city  is  laid  out 
like  a  checkerboard.  The  parallel  streets  running  in  one  direc- 
tion have  names,  often  taken  from  trees.     Market  Street  is  the 


84  TOWNSHIP  AND   COUNTY. 

I£  now  we  look  at  Livingston  County,  in  whlcli  this 
township  of  Deerfield  is  situated,  we  observe  that  the 
county  is  made  up  of  sixteen  townships,  in  four  rows 
of  four ;  and  the  next  county,  Washtenaw,  is  made 
up  of  twenty  townships,  in  five  rows  of  four.  Maps 
of  our  Western  states  are  thus  apt  to  have  somewhat  of 
and  of  West-  ^  checkerboard  aspect,  not  unlike  the  won- 
em  counties,  (jg^f^j  couutry  whicli  Alicc  visited  after  she 
had  gone  through  the  looking-glass.  Square  townships 
are  apt  to  make  square  or  rectangular  counties,  and  the 
state,  too,  is  likely  to  acquire  a  more  symmetrical  shape. 

central  street  from  which  the  others  are  reckoned  in  both  direc- 
tions according  to  the  couplet 

"  Market,  Arch,  Race,  and  Vine, 
Chestnut,  Wabiut,  Spruce,  and  Pine,"  etc. 

The  cross  streets  are  not  named  but  numbered,  as  First,  Second, 
etc.  The  houses  on  one  side  of  the  street  have  odd  numbers 
and  on  the  other  side  even  numbers,  as  is  the  general  custom  in 
the  United  States.  With  each  new  block  a  new  century  of  num- 
bers begins,  although  there  are  seldom  more  than  forty  real 
numbers  in  a  block.  For  example,  the  corner  house  on  Market 
Street,  just  above  Fifteenth,  is  1501  Market  Street.  At  some- 
wliere  about  1535  or  1539  you  come  to  Sixteenth  Street  ;  then  there 
is  a  break  in  the  numbering,  and  the  next  corner  house  is  1601. 
So  in  going  along  a  numbered  street,  say  Fifteenth,  from  Mar- 
ket, the  first  number  will  be  1  ;  after  passing  Arcli,  101  ;  after 
passing  Race,  201,  etc.  With  this  system  a  very  slight  famil- 
iarity with  the  city  enables  one  to  find  his  way  to  any  house,  and 
to  estimate  the  longtli  of  time  need  fid  for  reaching  it.  St.  Louis 
and  some  other  large  cities  liave  adopted  the  Philadelphia  plan, 
the  convenience  of  which  is  as  great  as  its  monotony.  In  Wasli- 
ington  the  streets  running  in  one  direction  are  lettered  A,  B,  C, 
etc.,  and  the  cross  streets  are  numbered  ;  and  upon  the  checker- 
board plan  is  superposed  another  plan  in  which  broad  avenues 
radiate  like  spokes  of  a  wheel  from  the  Capitol  as  centre. 
Tliese  avenues  cut  through  the  square  system  of  streets  in  all 
directions,  so  that  instead  of  tlie  dull  clieckerboaid  monotony 
there  is  an  almost  endless  variety  of  magnificent  vistas. 


SETTLEMENT   OF   THE  PUBLIC  DOMAIN.       85 

Nothing  could  be  more  unlike  the  jagged,  irregular 
shape  of  counties  in  Virginia  or  townships  in  Massa- 
chusetts, which  grew  up  just  as  it  happened.  The 
conti'ast  is  similar  to  that  between  Chicago,  with  its 
straight  streets  crossing  at  right  angles,  and  Boston, 
or  London,  with  their  labyrinths  of  crooked  lanes. 
For  picturesqueness  the  advantage  is  entirely  with  the 
irregular  city,  but  for  practical  convenience  it  is  quite 
the  other  way.  So  with  our  western  lands  the  sim- 
plicity and  regularity  of  the  sj^stem  have  made  it  a 
marvel  of  convenience  for  the  settlers,  and  doubtless 
have  had  much  to  do  with  the  rapidity  with  which 
civil  governments  have  been  built  up  in  the  West. 
"  This  fact,"  says  a  recent  writer,  "  will  be  appreciated 
by  those  who  know  from  experience  the  ease  and  cer- 
tainty with  which  the  pioneer  on  the  great  plains  of 
Kansas,  Nebraska,  or  Dakota  is  enabled  to  select  his 
homestead  or  '  locate  his  claim  '  unaided  by  the  expen- 
sive skill  of  the  surveyor."  ^ 

There  was  more  in  it  than  this,  however.  There  was 
a  germ  of  organization  planted  in  these  western  town- 
ships, which  must  be  noted  as  of  great  importance. 
Each  township,  being  six  miles  in  length  and  six 
miles  in  breadth,  was  divided  into  thirty-six  numbered 
sections,  each  containing  just  one  square  mile,  or  640 
acres.  Each  section,  moreover,  was  divided  into  IG 
tracts  of  40  acres  each,  and  sales  to  settlers 

-  nil  1  Some  effects 

were  and  are  generally  made  by  tracts  at  the  of  the 
rate  of  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  per  acre.  For 
fifty  dollars  a  man  may  buy  forty  acres  of  unsettled 
land,  provided  he  will  actually  go  and  settle  upon  it, 
and  this  has  proved  to  be  a  very  effective  inducement 
for  enterprising  young  men  to  "  go  West."  Many  a 
tract  thus  bought  for  fifty  dollars  has  turned  out  to 
1  Howard,  Local  Const.  Hist,  of  U.  S.,  vol.  i.  p.  139. 


86  TOWNSHIP  AND  COUNTY. 

be  a  soil  upon  which  princely  fortunes  have  grown. 
A  tract  of  forty  acres  represents  to-day  in  Chicago  or 
Minneapolis  an  amount  of  wealth  difficult  for  the  im- 
agination to  grasp. 

But  in  each  of  these  townships  there  was  at  least 

one  section  which  was  set  apart  for  a  special  purpose. 

This  was  usually  the  sixteenth  section,  nearly  in  the 

centre  of  the  township  ;  and  sometimes  the 

The  reserva-      ,  .  .  .  , 

tionforpub-  thirty-sixth  section,  in  the  southeast  corner, 

lie  schools.  _^ 

was  also  reserved.  Ihese  reservations  were 
for  the  support  of  public  schools.  Whatever  money 
was  earned,  by  selling  the  land  or  otherwise,  in  these 
sections,  was  to  be  devoted  to  school  purposes.  This 
was  a  most  remarkable  provision.  No  other  nation 
has  ever  made  a  gift  for  schools  on  so  magnificent  a 
scale.  We  have  good  reason  for  taking  pride  in  such 
a  liberal  provision.  But  we  ought  not  to  forget  that 
all  national  gifts  really  involve  taxation,  and  this  is  no 
exception  to  the  rule,  although  in  this  case  it  is  not  a 
taking  of  money,  but  a  keeping  of  it  back.  The  na- 
tional government  says  to  the  local  government,  what- 
ever revenues  may  come  from  that  section  of  G40 
acres,  be  they  great  or  small,  be  it  a  spot  in  a  rural 
grazing  district,  or  a  spot  in  some  crowded  city,  are 
not  to  go  into  the  pockets  of  individual  men  and  wo- 
men, but  are  to  be  reserved  for  public  purposes.  This 
is  a  case  of  disguised  taxation,  and  may  serve  to  re- 
mind us  of  what  was  said  some  time  ago,  that  a  gov- 
ernment cannot  give  anything  without  in  one  way  or 
another  depriving  individuals  of  its  equivalent.  No 
man  can  sit  on  a  camp-stool  and  by  any  amount  of 
tugging  at  that  camp-stool  lift  himself  over  a  fence. 
Whatever  is  given  comes  from  somewhere,  and  what- 
ever is  given  by  governments  comes  from  the  people. 
This  reservation  of  one  square  mile  in  every  town- 


SETTLEMENT   OF  THE  PUBLIC  DOMAIN.       87 

ship  for  purposes  of  education  has  already  most  pro- 
foundly influenced  the  development  of  local  inthisreser- 
government  in  our  western  states,  and  in  the  were'thi'*™ 
near  future  its  effects  are  likely  to  become  fo^i^p 
still  deeper  and  wider.  To  mark  out  a  town-  eovemmenfe, 
ship  on  the  map  may  mean  very  little,  but  when  once 
you  create  in  that  township  some  institution  that 
needs  to  be  cared  for,  you  have  made  a  long  stride 
toward  inaugurating  township  government.  When  a 
state,  as  for  instance  Illinois,  grows  up  after  the 
method  just  described,  what  can  be  more  natural  than 
for  it  to  make  the  township  a  body  corporate  for 
school  purposes,  and  to  authorize  its  inhabitants  to 
elect  school  officers  and  tax  themselves,  so  far  as  may 
be  necessary,  for  the  support  of  the  schools  ?  But 
the  school-house,  in  the  centre  of  the  township,  is  soon 
found  to  be  useful  for  many  purposes.  It  is  conven- 
ient to  ofo  there  to  vote  for  state  officers  or  for  con- 
gressmen  and  president,  and  so  the  school  township 
becomes  an  election  district.  Having  once  estab- 
lished such  a  centre,  it  is  almost  inevitable  that  it 
should  sooner  or  later  be  made  to  serve  sundry  other 
purposes,  and  become  an  area  for  the  election  of  con- 
stables, justices  of  the  peace,  highway  surveyors,  and 
overseers  of  the  poor.  In  this  way  a  vigorous  town- 
ship government  tends  to  grow  up  about  the  school- 
house  as  a  nucleus,  somewhat  as  in  early  New  England 
it  grew  up  about  the  church.  * 

This  tendency  may  be  observed  in  ahnost  all  the 
western  states  and  territories,  even  to  the  Pacific  coast. 
When  the  western  country  was  first  settled,  represen- 
tative county  government  prevailed  almost  At  first  the 
everywhere.      This  was  partly  because  the  tem  pL-^^ 
earliest  settlers  of  the  West  came  in  much  "'^^^^■ 
greater  numbers  from  the  middle  and  southern  states 


88  TOWNSHIP   AND   COUNTY. 

than  from  New  England.  It  was  also  partly  because, 
so  long  as  the  country  was  thinly  settled,  the  number 
o£  people  in  a  township  was  very  small,  and  it  was  not 
easy  to  have  a  government  smaller  than  that  of  the 
county.  It  was  something,  however,  that  the  little 
squares  on  the  map,  by  grouping  which  the  counties 
were  made,  were  already  called  townships.  There  is 
much  in  a  name.  It  was  still  more  important  that 
these  townships  were  only  six  miles  square  ;  for  that 
made  it  sure  that,  in  due  course  of  time,  when  popula- 
tion should  have  become  dense  enough,  they  would  be 
convenient  areas  for  establishing  township  govern- 
ment. 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE   TEXT. 

1.  What  feature  is  conspicuous  in  the   westward  movement  of 

population  in  the  United  States  ? 

2.  What  looseness  characterized  early  surveys  in  Kentucky  ? 

3.  What  led  to  the  passage  of  the  land  ordinance  of  1785  ? 

4.  Give  the  leading  features  of  the  government  survey  of  west- 

ern lands : — 
a.  The  principal  meridians. 
h.  The  range  lines. 

c.  The  base  lines. 

d.  The  township  lines. 

5.  Illustrate  the  application  of  the  system  in  the  case  of  a  town. 

6.  Contrast  in  shape  western  townships  and  counties  with  corre- 

sponding divisions  in  Massachusetts  and  Virginia. 

7.  Contrast  them  in  convenience  and  in  picturesqueness. 

8.  What  had  the  convenience  of  the  government  system  to  do 

with  the  set^ement  of  the  West  ? 

9.  What  were  the  divisions  of  the  township,  and  what  disposi- 

tion was  made  of  them  ? 
I  o.  What  important  reservations  were  made  in  the  townships  ? 

1 1 .  Show  how  these  reservations  involved  a  kind  of  taxation. 

1 2.  What  profound  influence  has  the  reservation  for  schools  ex- 

erted upon  local  government  ? 

13.  Why  did  the  county  system  prevail  at  first  ? 


TOWNSHIP-COUNTY  SYSTEM.  89 

§  3.     The  Representative  Toionship- County  System 
in  the  West. 
The  first  western  state  to  adopt  the  town-meeting 
was  Michigan,  where  the  great  majority  of  the  set- 
tlers had  come  from  New  England,  or  from 

,,-r  -17-1  !•!  ^   •      1       e  "^^^^  town- 

central  JNew  York,  which  was  a  kind  oi  west-  meeting  in 
ward  extension  of  New  England.^  Conn- 
ties  were  established  in  Michigan  Territory  in  1805, 
and  townships  were  first  incorporated  in  1825.  This 
was  twelve  years  before  Michigan  became  a  state.  At 
first  the  powers  of  the  town-meeting  were  narrowly 
limited.  It  elected  the  town  and  county  officers,  but 
its  power  of  appropriating  money  seems  to  have  been 
restricted  to  the  purpose  of  extirpating  noxious  ani- 
mals and  weeds.  In  1827,  however,  it  was  author- 
ized to  raise  money  for  the  support  of  schools,  and 
since  then  its  powers  have  steadily  increased,  until 
now  they  approach  those  of  the  town-meeting  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. 

The  history  of  Illinois  presents  an  extremely  inter- 
esting example  of  rivalry  and  conflict  between  the 
town  system  of  New  England  and  the  county  settlement 
system  of  the  South.  Observe  that  this  "^  i"'°««- 
great  state  is  so  long  that,  while  the  parallel  of  lati- 
tude starting  from  its  northern  boundary  runs  through 
Mai-blehead  in  Massachusetts,  the  parallel  through  its 
southernmost  point,  at  Cairo,  runs  a  little  south  of 
Petersburg  in  Virginia.  In  1818,  when  Illinois 
framed  its  state  government  and  was  admitted  to  the 
Union,  its  population  was  chiefly  in  the  southern  half, 

^  "  Of  the  496  members  of  the  Michigan  Pioneer  Association 
in  1881,  407  are  from  these  sections  "  [New  England  and  New 
York].  Bemis,  Local  Government  in  Michigan  and  the  North- 
ivest,  J.  H.  IT.  Studies,  I.,  v. 


90  TOWNSHIP  AND   COUNTY. 

and  composed  for  the  most  part  of  pioneers  from  Vir- 
ginia and  Virginia's  daughter-state  Kentucky.  These 
men  brought  with  them  the  old  Virginia  county  sys- 
tem, but  with  the  very  great  difference  that  the  county 
officers  were  not  appointed  by  the  governor,  or  allowed 
to  be  a  self -perpetuating  board,  but  were  elected  by  the 
people  of  the  county.  This  was  a  true  advance  in 
the  democratic  direction,  but  an  essential  defect  of  the 
southern  system  remained  in  the  absence  of  any  kind 
of  local  meeting  for  the  discussion  of  public  affairs 
and  the  enactment  of  local  laws. 

By  the  famous  Ordinance  of  1787,  to  which  we 
shall  again  have  occasion  to  refer,  negro  slavery  had 
been  forever  prohibited  to  the  north  of  the  Ohio  river, 
Effects  of  so  that,  in  spite  of  the  wishes  of  her  early 
iiance'^of"  scttlcrs,  Illinois  was  obliged  to  enter  the 
1787.  Union  as  a  free  state.     But   in  1820  Mis- 

souri was  admitted  as  a  slave  state,  and  this  turned 
the  stream  of  southern  migration  aside  from  Illinois 
to  Missouri.  These  emigrants,  to  whom  slaveholding 
was  a  mark  of  social  distinction,  preferred  to  go  where 
they  could  own  slaves.  About  the  same  time  settlers 
from  New  England  and  New  York,  moving  along  the 
southern  border  of  Michigan  and  the  northern  borders 
of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  began  pouring  into  the  northern 
part  of  Illinois.  These  new-comers  did  not  find  the 
representative  county  system  adequate  for  their  needs, 
and  they  demanded  township  government.  A  memora- 
ble political  struggle  ensued  between  the  northern 
and  southern  halves  of  the  state,  ending  in  1848  with 
the  adoption  of  a  new  constitution.  It  was  provided 
"  that  the  legislature  should  enact  a  general  law  for 
the  political  organization  of  townships,  under  which 
any  county  might  act  whenever  a  majority  of  its  voters 
should   so  determine."  ^      This  was  introducing   the 

^  Shaw,  Local  Government  in  Illinois,  J.  H.  U.  Studies,  I.,  iii. 


TOWNSHIP-COUNTY  SYSTEM.  91 

principle  of  local  option,  and  in  accordance  therewith 
township  governments  with  town-meetings  were  at 
once  introduced  in  the  northern  counties  of  the  state, 
while  the  southern  counties  kept  on  in  the  old  way. 
Now  comes  the  most  interesting  part  of  the  story. 
The  two  systems  being  thus  brought  into  immediate 
contact  in  the  same  state,  with  free  choice  between 
them  left  to  the  people,  the  northern  system  has  slowly 
but  steadily  supplanted  the  southern  system,  until  at 
the  present  day  only  one  fifth  part  of  the  counties  in 
Illinois  remain  without  township  government. 

This  example  shows  the  intense  vitality  of  the 
township  system.  It  is  the  kind  of  government  that 
people  are  sure  to  prefer  when  they  have  intense' 


!  VI- 


once  tried  it  under  favourable  conditions.  tomfsLfp***^ 
In  the  West  the  hostile  conditions  against  ^y^*^™- 
which  it  has  to  contend  are  either  the  recent  existence 
of  negro  slavery  and  the  ingrained  prejudice  in  favour 
of  the  Virginia  method,  as  in  Missouri ;  or  simply  the 
sparseness  of  population,  as  in  Nebraska.  Time  will 
evidently  remove  the  latter  obstacle,  and  probably  the 
former  also.  It  is  very  significant  that  in  Missouri, 
which  began  so  lately  as  1879  to  erect  township  gov- 
ernments under  a  local  option  law  similar  to  that  of 
Illinois,  the  process  has  already  extended  over  about 
one  sixth  part  of  the  state ;  and  in  Nebraska,  where 
the  same  process  began  in  1883,  it  has  covered  nearly 
one  third  of  the  organized  counties  of  the  state. 

The  principle  of  local  option  as  to  government  has 
been  carried   still  farther  in  Minnesota  and  Dakota. 
The    method  just  described  may  be  called  county  op- 
county  option  ;  the  question  is  decided  by  a  toniisilfp 
majority  vote  of  the  people  of  the  covinty.   "p*'""- 
But  in  Minnesota  in  1878  it  was  enacted  that  as  soon 
as  any  one  of  the  little  square  townships  in  that  state 


92  TOWNSHIP  AND   COUNTY. 

should  contain  as  many  as  twenty-five  legal  voters,  it 
might  petition  the  board  of  county  commissioners  and 
obtain  a  township  organization,  even  though  the  ad- 
jacent townships  in  the  same  county  should  remain 
under  county  government  only.  Five  years  later  the 
same  provision  was  adopted  by  Dakota,  and  under  it 
township  government  is  steadily  spreading. 

Two  distinct  grades  of  township  government  are  to 

be  observed  in  the  states  west  of  the  Alleghanies  ;  the 

one  has  the  town-meeting   for   deliberative 

Grades  of  t        i-M  • 

township       purposes,  the  other  has  not.     In  Ohio  and 

government,     i,.  i-ii'ii-i  ^      • 

Indiana,  which  derived  their  local  institu- 
tions largely  from  Pennsylvania,  there  is  no  such 
town-meeting,  the  administrative  offices  are  more  or 
less  concentrated  in  a  board  of  trustees,  and  the  town 
is  quite  subordinate  to  the  county.  The  principal 
features  of  this  system  have  been  reproduced  in  Iowa, 
Missouri,  and  Kansas. 

The  other  system  was  that  which  we  have  seen  be- 
ginning in  Michigan,  under  the  influence  of  New 
York  and  New  England.  Here  the  town-meeting, 
with  legislative  powers,  is  always  present.  The  most 
noticeable  feature  of  the  Michigan  system  is  the  rela- 
tion between  township  and  county,  which  was  taken 
from  New  York.  The  county  board  is  composed  of  the 
supervisors  of  the  several  townships,  and  thus  repre- 
sents the  townships.  It  is  the  same  in  Illinois.  It  is 
held  by  some  writers  that  this  is  the  most  perfect 
form  of  local  government,^  but  on  the  other  hand  the 
objection  is  made  that  county  boards  thus  constituted 
are  too  large.^  We  have  seen  that  in  the  states  in 
question  there  are  not  less  than  IG,  and  sometimes 
more  than  20,  townships  in  each  county.     In  a  board 

1  Howard,  Local  Const.  Hist.,  passim. 

2  Buniis,  Local  Government  in  Michigan,  J.  11.  U.  Studies,  T.,  v. 


TOWNSHIP-COUNTY  SYSTEM.  93 

of  16  or  20  membei^s  it  is  hard  to  fasten  responsi- 
bility upon  anybody  in  particular  ;  and  thus  it  be- 
comes possible  to  have  "  combinations,"  and  to  indulge 
in  that  exchange  of  favours  known  as  "  log-rolling," 
which  is  one  of  the  besetting  sins  of  all  large  repre- 
sentative bodies.  Responsibility  is  more  concentrated 
in  the  smaller  county  boards  of  Massachusetts,  Wis- 
consin, and  Minnesota. 

It  is  one  signal  merit  of  the  peaceful  and  untram- 
melled  way   in    which    American    institutions    have 
grown  up,  the  widest  possible  scope  being  allowed  to 
individual  and  local  preferences,  that  differ- 
ent states  adopt  different  methods  of  attain-  result  of  the 

.  ,  ,  I'll!  ...        absence  of 

inw-  the  s:reat  end  at  which  all  are  anning  in   centraiiza- 
common,  —  good  government.     Une  part  or  United 

.       states. 

our  vast  country  can  profit  by  the  experi- 
ence of  other  parts,  and  if  any  system  or  method  thus 
comes  to  prevail  everywhere  in  the  long  run,  it  is 
likely  to  be  by  reason  of  its  intrinsic  excellence.  Our 
country  affords  an  admirable  field  for  the  study  of  the 
general  principles  which  lie  at  the  foundations  of  uni- 
versal history.  Governments,  large  and  small,  are 
growing  up  all  about  us,  and  in  such  wise  that  we  can 
watch  the  processes  of  growth,  and  learn  lessons  which, 
after  making  due  allowances  for  difference  of  circum- 
stance, are  very  helpful  in  the  study  of  other  times 
and  countries. 

The  general  tendency  toward  the  spread  of  township 
government  in  the  more  recently  settled  parts  of  the 
United  States  is  unmistakable,  and  I  have  already  re- 
marked upon  the  influence  of  the  public  school  sys- 
tem in  aiding  this  tendency.  The  school  district,  as  a 
preparation  for  the  self-governing  township,  is  already 
exerting  its  influence  in  Colorado,  Nevada,  California, 
Wyoming,  Montana,  Idaho,  Oregon,  and  Washing- 
ton. 


94  TOWNSHIP  AND   COUNT V. 

Something  similar  is  going  on  in  the  southern  states, 
as  already  hinted  in  the  case  of  South  Carolina.  Lo- 
cal taxation  for  school  purposes  has  also  been  estab- 
lished in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  in  both  Virginias, 
and  elsewhere.  There  has  thus  begun  a  most  natural 
and  wholesome  movement,  which  might  easily  be 
checked,  with  disastrous  results,  by  the  injudicious 
appropriation  of    national  revenue  for  the 

Township  7  » 

government    aid  of  soutliem  scliools.     It  is  to  bc  hopcd 

is  germinat-        i  i  i  i  ,  7. 

ing  in  the       that  througliout  the  southern  states,  as  f  or- 

South.  .      J^.       .  . 

merly  in  Michigan,  the  self-governing  school 
district  may  prepare  the  way  for  the  seK-governing 
township,  with  its  deliberative  town-meeting.  Such  a 
growth  must  needs  be  slow,  inasmuch  as  it  requires 
long  political  training  on  the  part  of  the  negroes  and 
the  lower  classes  of  white  people ;  but  it  is  along 
such  a  line  of  development  that  such  political  training 
can  best  be  acquired ;  and  in  no  other  way  is  complete 
harmony  between  the  two  races  so  likely  to  be  secured. 
Dr.  Edward  Bemis,  who  in  a  profoundly  interesting 
essay  ^  has  called  attention  to  this  function  of  the 
school  district  as  a  stage  in  the  evolution  of  the  town- 
ship, remarks  also  upon  the  fact  that  "  it  is  in  the  local 
Woman  suf-  govemmeut  of  the  school  district  that  woman 
School  dis-^  suffrage  is  being  tried."  Women  may  vote 
*"'^''  at  school-district-meetings   in  several  states, 

of  which  the  Commissioner's  Report  of  1880  specifies 
Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Wyo- 
ming, and  Dakota  ;  and  in  some  other  states  and  terri- 
tories under  certain  restrictions,  as,  for  example,  in 
Idaho,  where  widows  and  unmarried  women  holding 
taxable  property  may  vote  upon  district  taxes.  So  in 
many   states,   of  which  the  same  report  specifies  all 

^  Local  Government  in  Michigan   and  the   Northwest,  J.  H.  U. 
Studies,  I.,  V. 


TOWNSHIP-COUNTY  SYSTEM.  95 

New  England,  with  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania, 
Louisiana,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Illinois, 
Iowa,  Kansas,  Colorado,  Wyoming,  and  California,  wo- 
men may  be  elected  to  school  committees,  or  to  sundry 
administrative  school  offices.  In  England,  it  may  be 
observed,  woman  suffrage  has  advanced  still  further ; 
women  who  pay  taxes  vote  not  only  on  school  matters, 
but  generally  in  the  local  elections  of  vestries,  bor- 
oughs, and  poor-law  unions. 

Discussions  as  to  the  general  expediency  of  woman 
suffrage  do  not  come  within  the  scope  of  this  histor- 
ical essay.  The  historical  reason  why  the  suffrage 
has  in  all  as^es  and  countries  been  restricted  to  men  is 
probably  to  be  sought  in  the  conditions  under  which 
voting  originated.  In  primeval  times  voting  was 
probably  adopted  as  a  substitute  for  fighting.  The 
smaller  and  presumably  weaker  party  yielded  to  the 
larger  without  an  actual  trial  of  physical  strength ; 
heads  were  counted  instead  of  being  broken.  Ac- 
cordingly it  was  only  the  warriors  who  became  voters. 
The  restriction  of  political  activity  to  men  has  also 
probably  been  emphasized  by  the  fact  that  all  the 
higher  civilizations  have  passed  through  a  well-defined 
patriarchal  stage  of  society  in  which  each  household 
was  represented  by  its  oldest  warrior.  Whether  ar- 
rangements so  long  subsisting  are  likely  to  be  altered 
under  the  conditions  of  modern  society,  is  a  question 
that  has  within  recent  times  arisen  for  discussion 
among  English-speaking  people,  but  in  a  work  like 
the  present  it  does  not  concern  us. 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE    TEXT. 

1.  Describe  the  origin  and  development  of  the  town-meeting  in 

Michigan. 

2.  Describe  the  settling  of  southern  Illinois. 

3.  Describe  the  settling  of  northern  Illinois. 


9G  TOWNSHIP   AND   COUNTY. 

4.  What  difference  in  thought  and  feeling  existed  between  these 

sections  ? 

5.  What  systems  of  local  government  came  into  rivalry  in  Illi- 

nois, and  why  ? 

6.  What  compromise  between  them  was  put  into  the  state  con- 

stitution ? 

7.  Which  system,  the  town  or  the  county,  has  shown  the  greater 

vitality,  and  why  ? 

8.  What  obstacles  has  the  town  system  to  wox-k  against  ? 

9.  Show  how  tlie  jirinciple  of  local  option  in  government  has 

been  ai^plied  in  Missouri,  Nebraska,  Minnesota,  and  Da- 
kota. 

10.  What  two  grades   of    town  government  exist  west  of   the 

Alleghanies  ? 

1 1 .  What  objection   exists  to   large   county  boards   of   govern- 

ment ? 

1 2.  Why  is  our  country  an  excellent  field  for  the  study  of  the 

principles  of  government  ? 

13.  What  unmistakable  tendency  in  the  case  of  townshii)  govern- 

ment is  noticeable  ? 

14.  Speak  of  township  government  in  the  South. 

15.  What  part  have  women  in  the  affairs  of  the  school  district 

in  many  states  ? 

16.  What  is  the  historical  reason  why  suffrage  has  been  restricted 

to  men  ? 


SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS   AND  DIRECTIONS. 

It  may  need  to  be  repeated  (see  page  12)  that  it  is  not  expected 
that  each  pupil  shall  answer  all  the  miscellaneous  questions  put,  or 
respond  to  all  the  suggestions  made  in  this  book.  Indeed,  the 
teacher  may  be  pardoned  if  now  and  then  he  finds  it  difficult 
himself  to  answer  a  question,  —  jiarticularly  if  it  is  framed  to 
provoke  thought  rather  than  lead  to  a  conclusion,  or  if  it  is  bet- 
ter fitted  for  some  other  community  or  part  of  the  country  than 
that  in  which  he  lives.  Let  him  therefore  divide  the  questions 
among  his  pupils,  or  assign  to  them  selected  questions.  In  cases 
that  call  iov  special  knowledge,  let  the  topics  go  to  pupils  who 
may  have  exceptional  facilities  for  information  at  home. 

The  important  point  is  not  so  much  tlie  settlement  of  all  the 
questions  proposed  as  it  is  the  encouragement  of  the  inquiring 
and  thinking  spirit  on  the  part  of  tlie  pupil. 


TOWNSHIP-COUNTY  SYSTEM.  97 

1.  What  impression  do  you  get  from  this  chapter  about  the  hold 

of  town  government  upon  popular  favour  ? 

2.  What  do  you  regard  as  the   best  features  of  town  govern- 

ment ? 

3.  Is  there  any  tendency  anywhere  to  divide  towns  into  smaller 

towns  ?     If  it  exists,  illustrate  and  explain  it. 

4.  Is  there  any  tendency  anywhere  to  unite  towns  into  larger 

towns  or  into  cities  ?    If  it  exists,  illustrate  and  explain  it. 

5.  In  every  town-meeting  there  are  leaders,  —  usually  men  of 

character,  ability,  and  means.  Do  you  understand  that 
these  men  practically  have  their  own  way  in  town  affairs, 
— that  the  voters  as  a  whole  do  but  little  more  than  fall 
in  with  the  wishes  and  plans  of  their  leaders  ?  Or  is 
there  considerable  independence  in  thought  and  action  on 
the  side  of  the  voters  ? 

6.  Can  a  town  do  what  it  pleases,  or  is  it  limited  in  its  action  ? 

If  limited,  by  whom  or  by  what  is  it  restricted,  and  where 
are  the  restrictions  recorded  ?     (Consult  the  Statutes.) 

7.  Why  should  the  majority  rule  in  town-meeting  ?     Suggest, 

if  possible,  a  better  way. 

8.  Is  it,  on  the  whole,  wise  that  the  vote  of  the  poor  man  shall 

count  as  much  as  that  of  the  rich,  the  vote  of  the  igno- 
rant as  much  as  that  of  the  intelligent,  the  vote  of  the 
unprincipled  as  much  as  that  of  the  high-toned  ? 

9.  Have  the  poor,  the  ignorant,  or  the   unprincipled  any  inter- 

ests to  be  regarded  in  government  ? 

10.  Is  the  single  vote  a  man  casts  the  full  measure  of  his  influ- 

ence and  power  in  the  town-meeting  ? 

11.  What  are  the  objections  to  a  suffrage  restricted  by  property 

and  intellectual  qualifications  ?  To  a  suffrage  unre- 
stricted by  such  qualifications  ? 

12.  Do  women  vote  in  your  town  ?     If  so,  give  some  account  of 

their  voting  and  of  the  success  or  popularity  of  the  plan, 

13.  Is  lynch  law  ever  justifiable  ? 

14.  Ought  those  who  resort  to  lynch  law  to  be  punished  ?     If 

so,  for  what  ? 

15.  Compare  the  condition  or  government  of  a  community  where 

lynch  law  is  resorted  to  with  the  condition  or  government 
of  a  community  where  it  is  unknown. 

16.  May  the  citizen  who  is  not  an  officer  of  the  law  interfere  (1) 

to  stop  the  fighting  of  boys  in  the  public  streets,  (2)  to 
capture  a  thief  who  is  plying  his  trade,  (3)  to  defend  a 


98  TOWNSHIP  AND   COUNTY. 

person  who  is  brutally  assaulted  ?  Is  there  anything  like 
lynch  law  in  such  interference  ?  Where  does  the  citizen's 
duty  begin  and  end  in  such  cases  ? 

1 7.  How  came  the  United  States  to  own  the  public  domain  or 

any  part  of  it?  (Consult  my  Critical  Period  of  Amer. 
Hist.,  pp.  187-207.) 

18.  How  does  tliis  domain  get  into  the  possession  of  individuals  ? 

19.  Is  it  right  for  the  United  States  to  give  any  part  of  it  away  ? 

If  right,  under  what  conditions  is  it  right  ?  If  wrong, 
under  what  conditions  is  it  wi-ong? 

20.  What  is  the  "  homestead  act  "  of  the  United  States,  and  what 

is  its  object  ? 

21.  Can  perfect  squares  of  the  same   size   be   laid  out  with  the 

range  and  township  lines  of  the  public  surveys  ?  Are  all 
the  sections  of  a  township  of  the  same  size  ?     Explain. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE. 


§  1.  Various  Local  Systems. — /.  H.  U.  Studies,  I.,  vi., 
Edward  Ingle,  Parish  Institutions  of  Maryland  ;  I.,  vii.,  John 
Johnson,  Old  Maryland  Manors ;  I.,  xii.,  B.  J.  Ramage,  Local 
Government  and  Free  Schools  in  South  Carolina  •  III.,  v.-vii.,  L. 
W.  Wilhelm,  Local  Listitutions  of  Maryland  ;  IV".,  i.,  Irving  El- 
ting,  Dutch  Village  Communities  on  the  Hudson  River. 

§  2.  Settlement  of  the  Public  Domain.  —  J.  H.  U. 
Studies,  III.,  i.,  H.  B.  Adams,  Maryland's  Influence  upon  Land 
Cessions  to  the  United  States  ;  IV.,  vii.-ix.,  Shoshuke  Sato,  His- 
tory of  the  Land  Question  in  the  United  States. 

§  3.  The  Representative  Township-County  System.  — 
/.  H.  U.  Studies,  I.,  iii.,  Albert  Shaw,  Local  Government  in  Illi- 
nois ;  I.,  v.,  Edward  Bemis,  Local  Government  in  Michigan  and  the 
Northwest;  II.,  vii.,  Jesse  Macy,  Institutional  Beginnings  in  a 
Western  State  (^lowa).  For  further  ilhistration  of  one  set  of 
institutions  supervening  upon  another,  see  also  V.,  v.-vi.,  J.  G. 
Bourinot,  Local  Government  in  Canada  j  VIII.,  iii.,  D.  E.  Spen- 
cer, Local  Government  in  Wisconsin. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   CITY. 

§  1.  Direct  and  Indirect  Government. 

In  the  foregoing  survey  of  local  institutions  and 
their  growth,  we  have  had  occasion  to  compare  and 
sometimes  to  contrast  two  different  methods 
of  government  as  exemplified  on  the  one  foregoing 
hand  in  the  township  and  on  the  other  hand 
in  the  county.  In  the  former  we  have  direct  govern- 
ment by  a  primary  assembly,^  the  town-meeting  ;  in 
the  latter  we  have  indirect  government  by  a  represen- 
tative board.  If  the  county  board,  as  in  colonial  Vir- 
ginia, perpetuates  itself,  or  is  appointed  otherwise  than 
by  popular  vote,  it  is  not  strictly  a  representative 
board,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  phrase  ;  the  govern- 
ment is  a  kind  of  oligarchy.  If,  as  in  colonial  Penn- 
sylvania, and  in  the  United  States  generally  to-day, 
the  county  board  consists  of  officers  elected  by  the 
peojile,  the  county  government  is  a  representative 
democracy.  The  township  government,  on  the  other 
hand,  as  exemplified  in  New  England  and  in  the 
northwestern  states  which  have  adopted  it,  is  a  pure 
democracy.  The  latter,  as  we  have  observed,  has  one 
signal  advantage  over  aU  other  kinds  of  government, 

^  A  primary  assembly  is  one  in  which  the  members  attend  of 
their  own  right,  without  having  been  elected  to  it ;  a  representa- 
tive assembly  is  composed  of  elected  delegates. 


100  THE  CITY. 

in  so  far  as  it  tends  to  make  every  man  feel  that  the 
business  of  government  is  part  of  his  own  business, 
and  that  where  he  has  a  stake  in  the  management  of 
public  affairs  he  has  also  a  voice.  When  people  have 
got  into  the  habit  of  leaving  local  affairs  to  be  man- 
aged by  representative  boards,  their  active  interest  in 
local  affairs  is  liable  to  be  somewhat  weakened,  as  all 
energies  in  this  world  are  weakened,  from  want  of 
exercise.  When  some  fit  subject  of  complaint  is 
brought  up,  the  individual  is  too  apt  to  feel  that  it  is 
none  of  his  business  to  furnish  a  remedy,  let  the 
proper  officers  look  after  it.  He  can  vote  at  elec. 
tions,  which  is  a  power  ;  he  can  perhaps  make  a  stir  in 
the  newspapers,  which  is  also  a  power ;  but  personal 
participation  in  town-meeting  is  likewise  a  power,  the 
necessary  loss  of  which,  as  we  pass  to  wider  spheres 
of  government,  is  unquestionably  to  be  regretted. 

Nevertheless  the  loss  is  inevitable.  A  primary 
assembly  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  a  county,  for  pur- 
poses of  local  government,  is  out  of  the  question. 
Direct  gov-  Tlicrc  must  be  representative  government, 
^osSS'ra  ^^^  fo^  ^^^^^  purpose  the  county  system,  an 
county.  inheritance  from  the  ancient  English  shire, 
has  furnished  the  needful  machinery.  Our  county 
government  is  near  enough  to  the  people  to  be  kept  in 
general  from  gross  abuses  of  power.  There  are  many 
points  which  can  be  much  better  decided  in  small  rep- 
resentative bodies  than  in  large  miscellaneous  meetings. 
The  responsibility  of  our  local  boards  has  been  fairly 
well  preserved.  The  county  system  has  had  no  mrean 
share  in  keeping  alive  the  spirit  of  local  independence 
and  self-government  among  our  people.  As  regards 
efficiency  of  administration,  it  has  achieved  commend- 
able success,  except  in  the  matter  of  rural  highways  ; 
and  if  our  roads  are  worse  than  those   of  any  other 


DIRECT  AND  INDIRECT   GOVERNMENT.     101 

civilized  country,  that  is  clue  not  so  much  to  imperfect 
administrative  methods  as  to  other  causes,  —  such  as 
the  sparseness  of  population,  the  fierce  extremes  of 
sunshine  and  frost,  and  the  fact  that  since  this  huge 
country  began  to  be  reclaimed  from  the  wilderness, 
the  average  voter,  who  has  not  travelled  in  Europe, 
knows  no  more  about  good  roads  than  he  knows  about 
the  temples  of  Psestum  or  the  pictures  of  Tintoretto, 
and  therefore  does  not  realize  what  demands  he  may 
reasonably  make. 

This  last  consideration  applies  in  some  degree,  no 
doubt,  to  the  ill-paved  and  filthy  streets  which  are  the 
first  thing's  to  arrest  one's  attention  in  most  of  our 
great  cities.  It  is  time  for  us  now  to  consider  briefly 
our  general  system  of  city  government,  in  its  origin 
and  in  some  of  its  most  important  features. 

Representative  government  in  counties  is  necessi- 
tated by  the  extent  of  territory  covered ;  in  cities  it 
is  necessitated  by  the  multitude  of  people.  When  the 
town  comes  to  have  a  very  large  population, 

.       ,  1        •       n         •  -111  The  Boston 

it    becomes    phvsicallv    impossible    to   nave  town-meet- 

XT  111  ,       .       ,     iug  iu  1820. 

town-meetings.  JNo  way  could  be  devised 
by  which  all  the  taxpayers  of  the  city  of  New  York 
could  be  'assembled  for  discussion.  In  1820  the  pop- 
ulation of  Boston  was  about  40,000,  of  whom  rather 
more  than  7,000  were  voters  qualified  to  attend  the 
town-meetings.  Consequently  "  when  a  town-meeting 
was  held  on  any  exciting  subject  in  Faneuil  Hall, 
those  only  who  obtained  places  near  the  moderator 
could  even  hear  the  discussion.  A  few  busy  or  in- 
terested individuals  easily  obtained  the  management 
of  the  most  important  affairs  in  an  assembly  in  which 
the  greater  number  could  have  neither  voice  nor  hear- 
ing. When  the  subject  was  not  generally  exciting, 
town-meetings  were   usually  composed   of   the  select- 


102  THE   CITY. 

men,  the  town  officers,  and  thirty  or  forty  inhabitants. 
Those  who  thus  came  were  for  the  most  part  drawn 
to  it  from  some  official  duty  or  private  interest,  which, 
when  performed  or  attained,  they  generally  troubled 
themselves  but  little,  or  not  at  all,  about  the  other 
business  of  the  meeting."  ^ 

Under  these  circumstances  it  was  found  necessary 
in  1822  to  drop  the  town  -  meeting  altogether  and 
devise  a  new  form  of  government  for  Boston.  After 
various  plans  had  been  suggested  and  discussed,  it 
was  decided  that  the  new  government  shoidd  be  vested 
in  a  Mayor ;  a  select  council  of  eight  persons  to  be  called 
the  Board  of  Aldermen ;  and  a  Common  Council  of 
forty-eight  persons,  four  from  each  of  twelve  wards  into 
which  the  city  was  to  be  divided.  All  these  officials 
were  to  be  elected  by  the  people.  At  the  same  time 
the  official  name  "  Town  of  Boston  "  was  changed  to 
"  City  of  Boston." 

There  is  more  or  less  of  history  involved  in  these 
offices  and  designations,  to  which  we  may  devote  a  few 
Distinctions  words  of  explanation.  In  New  England 
to^wTnd  local  usage  there  is  an  ambiguity  in  the  word 
cities.  4t  town."     As  an  official  designation  it  means 

the  inhabitants  of  a  township  considered  as  a  commu- 
nity or  corporate  body.  In  conmion  j^arlance  it  often 
means  the  patch  of  land  constituting  the  township  on 
the  map,  as  when  we  say  that  Squire  Brown's  elm  is 
"  the  biffGest  tree  in  town."  But  it  still  oftener  means 
a  collection  of  streets,  houses,  and  families  too  large 
to  be  called  a  village,  but  without  the  municipal  gov- 
ernment that  characterizes  a  city.  Sometimes  it  is 
used  'par  excelleiice  for  a  city,  as  when  an  inhabitant 
of  Cambridge,  itself  a  large  suburban  city,  speaks  of 
going  to  Boston  as  going  "  into  town."  But  such 
^  Quiiicy's  Municipal  History  of  Boston,  p.  28. 


DIRECT  AND  INDIRECT  GOVERNMENT.     103 

cases  are  of  course  mere  survivals  from  the  time  when 
the  suburb  was  a  village.  In  American  usage  gener- 
ally the  town  is  something  between  village  and  city,  a 
kind  of  inferior  or  incomplete  city.  The  image  which 
it  calls  up  in  the  mind  is  of  something  urban  and  not 
rural.  This  agrees  substantially  with  the  usage  in 
European  history,  where  "  town  "  ordinarily  means  a 
walled  town  or  city  as  conti-asted  with  a  village.  In 
England  the  word  is  used  either  in  this  general  sense, 
or  more  specifically  as  signifying  an  inferior  city,  as 
in  America.  But  the  thing  which  the  town  lacks,  as 
compared  with  the  complete  city,  is  very  different  in 
America  from  what  it  is  in  England.  In  America  it 
is  municipal  government  —  with  mayor,  aldermen,  and 
common  council  —  which  must  be  added  to  the  town 
in  order  to  make  it  a  city.  In  England  the  town  may 
(and  usually  does)  have  this  municipal  government ; 
but  it  is  not  distinguished  by  the  Latin  name  "  city  " 
imless  it  has  a  cathedral  and  a  bishop.  Or  in  other 
words  the  English  city  is,  or  has  been,  the  capital  of 
a  diocese.  Other  towns  in  England  are  distinguished 
as  "  boroughs,"  an  old  Teutonic  word  which  was  orig- 
inally applied  to  towns  as  fortified  places.^  The  vo- 
ting inhabitants  of  an  English  city  are  called  "  citi- 
zens;" those  of  a  borough  are  called  "burgesses." 
Thus  the  official  corporate  designation  of  Cambridge 
is  "the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  Cam- 
bridge ; "  but  Oxford  is  the  seat  of  a  bishopric,  and 
its  corporate  desig-nation  is  "  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and 
citizens  of  Oxford." 

^  The  word  appears  in  many  town  names,  such  as  Edin- 
burgh, Scarborough,  Canterbury,  Bury  St.  Edmunds  ;  and  on  the 
Continent,  as  Hamburg,  Cherbourg,  Burgos,  etc.  In  Connecticut, 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Minnesota,  the  name  "  borough  " 
is  applied  to  a  certain  class  of  uiunicii)alities  with  some  of  the 
powers  of  cities. 


104  THE   CITY. 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE    TEXT. 

1.  What  is  the  essential  diflPerence  between  township  govern- 

ment and  county  government  ? 

2.  What  is  the  distinct  advantage  of  the  former  ? 

3.  Why  is  direct  government  impossible  in  the  county  ? 

4.  Speak  of  the  degree  of  efficiency  in  county  government. 

5.  Why  is  direct  government  impossible  in  a  city  ? 

6.  What  difficulties  in  direct  government  were  experienced  in 

Boston  in  1820  and  many  years  preceding  ? 

7.  Wliat  remedy  for  these  difficulties  was  adopted  ? 

8.  Show  how  the  word  "town"  is  used  to  indicate 
a.  The  land  of  a  township. 

h.  A  somewhat  large  collection  of  streets,  houses,  and  fam- 
ilies. 
c.  And  even,  in  some  instances,  a  city. 

9.  What  is  the  town  commonly  understood  to  be  in  American 

usage  ? 
ID.  What  is  the  difference  in  the  United  States  between  a  town 
and  a  city  ? 

11.  What  is  the  difference  in  England   between  a  town   and  a 

city? 

12.  Distinguish  between  citizens  and  burgesses  in  England. 

§  2.    Origin  of  English  Boro^ighs  and  Cities. 
What,  then,  was  the  origin  of  the  English  borough 
or  city  ?     In  the  days  when  Roman  legions  occupied 
for  a  long:  time   certain  military  stations  in 

*'  Chesters." 

Britain,  their  camps  were  apt  to  become 
centres  of  trade  and  thus  to  grow  into  cities.  Such 
places  were  generally  known  as  casters  or  chesters, 
from  the  Latin  castra,  "  camp,"  and  there  are  many 
of  them  on  the  map  of  England  to-day.  But  these 
were  exceptional  cases.  As  a  rule  the  origin  of  the 
borough  was  as  purely  English  as  its  name.  AVe  have 
seen  that  the  town  was  originally  the  dwelling-place 
Coalescence  ^f  a  Stationary  clan,  surrounded  by  palisades 
hftoT^tifted  or  by  a  dense  quickset  hedge.  Now  where 
boroughs.  guch  Small  encloscd  places  were  thinly  scat- 
tered about  they  developed  simply  into  villages.     But 


ENGLISH  BOROUGHS  AND   CITIES.        105 

where,  tliroiigli  the  development  of  trade  or  any  other 
cause,  a  good  many  of  them  gx-ew  up  close  together 
■within  a  narrow  compass,  they  gradually  coalesced  into 
a  kind  of  compound  town ;  and  with  the  greater  pop- 
ulation and  greater  wealth,  there  was  naturally  more 
elaborate  and  permanent  fortification  than  that  of  the 
palisaded  village.  There  were  massive  walls  and 
frowning  turrets,  and  the  place  came  to  be  called  a 
fortress  or  "  borough."  The  borough,  then,  "  was  sim- 
ply several  townships  packed  tightly  together  ;  a  hun- 
dred smaller  in  extent  and  thicker  in  population  than 
other  hundreds."  ^ 

From  this  compact  and  composite  character  of  the 
borough  came  several  important  results.  We  have 
seen  that  the  hundred  was  the  smallest  area  ^,   ^ 

The  borough 

for  the  administration  of  iustice.    The  town-  as  a  uun- 

•'  .  area. 

ship  was  in  many  respects  self-governing, 
but  it  did  not  have  its  court,  any  more  than  the  New 
England  township  of  the  present  day  has  its  court. 
The  lowest  court  was  that  of  the  hundred,  but  as  the 
borough  was  equivalent  to  a  hundred  it  soon  came  to 
have  its  own  court.  And  although  much  obscurity 
still  surrounds  the  early  history  of  municipal  govern- 
ment in  England,  it  is  probable  that  this  court  was  a 
representative  board,  like  any  other  hundred  court, 
and  that  the  relation  of  the  borough  to  its  constituent 
townships  resembled  the  relation  of  the  modern  city 
to  its  constituent  wards. 

But  now  as  certain  boroughs  grew  larger  and  an- 
nexed outlying  townships,  or  acquired  adjacent  terri- 
tory which  presently  became  covered  with  xhe  borough 
streets  and  houses,  their  constitution  became  ^"^  ^  county. 
still  more  complex.     The  borough  came  to  embrace 

1  FrGeman,  Norman  Conquest,  \o\.  v.  p.  4G6.  For  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  hundred,  see  above,  pp.  75-80. 


106  THE  CITY. 

several  closely  packed  hundreds,  and  thus  became 
analogous  to  a  shire.  In  this  way  it  gained  for  itself 
a  sheriff  and  the  equivalent  of  a  county  court.  For 
example,  under  the  charter  granted  by  Henry  I.  in 
1101,  London  was  expressly  recognized  as  a  county 
by  itself.  Its  burgesses  could  elect  their  own  chief 
magistrate,  who  was  called  the  port-reeve,  inasmuch 
as  London  is  a  seaport ;  in  some  other  towns  he  was 
called  the  borough-reeve.  He  was  at  once  the  chief 
executive  officer  and  the  chief  judge.  The  burgesses 
could  also  elect  their  sheriff,  although  in  all  rural 
counties  Henry's  father,  William  the  Conqueror,  had 
lately  deprived  the  people  of  this  privilege  and  ap- 
pointed the  sheriffs  himself.  London  had  its  rep- 
resentative board,  or  council,  which  was  the  equiva- 
lent of  a  county  court.  Each  ward,  moreover,  had  its 
own  representative  board,  which  was  the  equivalent  of 
a  hundred  court.  "  Within  the  wards,  or  hundreds, 
the  burgesses  were  grouped  together  in  township,  par- 
ish, or  manor.  .  .  .  Into  the  civic  organization  of 
London,  to  whose  special  privileges  all  lesser  cities 
were  ever  striving  to  attain,  the  elements  of  local  ad- 
ministration embodied  in  the  township,  the  hundred, 
and  the  shire  thus  entered  as  component  parts."  ^ 
Constitutionally,  therefore,  London  was  a  little  world 
in  itself,  and  in  a  less  degree  the  same  was  true  of 
other  cities  and  boroughs  which  afterwards  obtained 
the  same  kind  of  organization,  as  for  example,  York 
and  Newcastle,  Lincoln  and  Norwich,  Southampton 
and  Bristol. 

In  such  boroughs  or  cities   all   classes    of    society 
were  brought  into  close    contact,  —  barons 

The  guilds.  ,1.1  .  i  1 

and  knights,  priests  and  monks,  merchants 

^  Hannis  Taylor,   Origin  and  Growth  of  the  English  Constitu- 
tion, vol.  i.  p.  458. 


ENGLISH  BOROUGHS  AND   CITIES.        107 

and  craftsmen,  free  labourers  and  serfs.  But  trades 
and  manufactures,  which  always  had  so  much  to  do 
with  the  growth  of  the  city,  acquired  the  chief  power 
and  the  control  of  the  government.  From  an  early 
period  tradesmen  and  artisans  found  it  worth  while 
to  form  themselves  into  guilds  or  brotherhoods,  in 
order  to  protect  their  persons  and  property  against 
insult  and  robbery  at  the  hands  of  great  lords  and 
their  lawless  military  retainers.  Thus  there  came  to 
be  guilds,  or  "  worshipfid  companies,"  of  grocers,  fish- 
mongers, butchers,  weavers,  tailors,  ironmongers,  car- 
penters, saddlers,  armourers,  needle-makers,  etc.  In 
large  towns  there  was  a  tendency  among  such  trade 
guilds  to  combine  in  a  "  united  brotherhood,"  or 
"town  guild,"  and  this  organization  at  length  ac- 
quired full  control  of  the  city  government.  In  Lon- 
don this  process  was  completed  in  the  course  of  the 
thirteenth  century.  To  obtain  the  full  privileges  of 
citizenship  one  had  to  be  enrolled  in  a  guild.  The 
guild  hall  became  the  city  hall.  The  aldermen,  or 
head  men  of  sundry  guilds,  became  the  head  Mayor,  aider- 
men  of  the  several  wards.  There  was  a  Jfommon'^ 
representative  board,  or  common  council^  council. 
elected  by  the  citizens.  The  aldermen  and  common 
council  held  their  meetings  in  the  Guildhall,  and 
over  these  meetings  presided  the  chief  magistrate,  or 
port-reeve,  who  by  this  time,  in  accordance  with  the 
fashion  then  prevailing,  had  assumed  the  French  title 
of  mayor.  As  London  had  come  to  be  a  little  world 
in  itself,  so  this  city  government  reproduced  on  a  small 
scale  the  national  government ;  the  mayor  answering 
to  the  king,  the  aristocratic  board  of  aldermen  to  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  the  democratic  common  council 
to  the  House  of  Commons.  A  still  more  suggestive 
comparison,  perhaps,  would  be  between  the  aldermen 


108  THE   CITY. 

and  our  federal  Senate,  since  the  aldermen  represented 
wards,  while  the  common  council  represented  the 
citizens. 

The  constitution  thus  perfected  in  the  city  of  Lon- 
don ^  six  hundred  years  ago  has  remained  to  this  day 
The  city  of  witliout  csscntial  change.  The  voters  are 
Loudon.  enrolled  members  of  companies  which  rep- 
resent the  ancient  guilds.  Each  year  they  choose 
one  of  the  aldermen  to  be  lord  mayor.  Within  the 
city  he  has  precedence  next  to  the  sovereign  and  be- 
fore the  royal  family ;  elsewhere  he  ranks  as  an  earl, 
thus  indicating  the  equivalence  of  the  city  to  a  county, 
and  with  like  significance  he  is  lord  lieutenant  of  the 
city  and  justice  of  the  peace.  The  twenty-six  alder- 
men, one  for  each  ward,  are  elected  by  the  people, 
such  as  are  entitled  to  vote  for  members  of  parlia- 
ment ;  they  are  justices  of  the  peace.  The  common 
councilmen,  206  in  number,  are  also  elected  by  the 
peojjle,  and  their  legislative  power  within  the  city  is 
practically  supreme ;  parliament  does  not  think  of 
overruling  it.  And  the  city  government  thus  con- 
stituted is  one  of  the  most  clean-handed  and  efficient 
in  the  world.^ 

The  development  of  other  English  cities  and  bor- 
oughs was  so  far  like  that  of  London  that  merchant 
guilds  generally  obtained  control,  and  government  by 
mayor,  aldermen,  and  common  council  came  to  be  the 

^  The  city  of  London  extends  east  and  west  from  the  Tower 
to  Temple  Bar,  and  north  and  south  from  Finsbury  to  the 
Thames,  with  a  population  of  not  more  than  100,000,  and  is  but 
a  small  part  of  the  enormous  metropolitan  area  now  known  as 
London,  which  is  a  circle  of  twelve  miles  radius  in  every  direc- 
tion from  its  centre  at  Charing  Cross,  with  a  population  of  more 
than  5,000,000.  This  vast  area  is  an  agglomeration  of  many  par- 
ishes, manors,  etc.,  and  has  no  municipal  government  in  common. 

2  Lof  tie,  History  of  London,  vol.  i.  p.  446. 


ENGLISH  BOROUGHS  AND   CITIES.        109 

prevailing  type.  Having  also  their  own  judges  and 
sheriffs,  and  not  being  obliged  to  go  out-  English 
side  of  their  own  walls  to  obtain  justice,  to  bulwarks  of 
enforce  contracts  and  punish  crime,  their  ^'^^^^y- 
efficiency  as  independent  self-governing  bodies  was 
great,  and  in  many  a  troubled  time  they  served  as 
staunch  bulwarks  of  English  liberty.  The  strength 
of  their  turreted  walls  was  more  than  supplemented 
by  the  length  of  their  purses,  and  such  immunity 
from  the  encroachments  of  lords  and  king  as  they 
could  not  otherwise  win,  they  contrived  to  buy.  Ar- 
bitrary taxation  they  generally  escaped  by  compounding 
with  the  royal  exchequer  in  a  fixed  sum  or  quit-rent, 
known  as  the  Jirma  hurgi.  We  have  observed  the 
especial  privilege  which  Henry  I.  confirmed  to  Lon- 
don, of  electing  its  own  sheriff.  London  had  been 
prompt  in  recognizing  his  title  to  the  crown,  and  such 
support,  in  days  when  the  succession  was  not  well 
regulated,  no  prudent  king  could  afford  to  pass  by 
without  some  svabstantial  acknowledgment.  It  was 
never  safe  for  any  king  to  trespass  upon  the  liberties 
of  London,  and  through  the  worst  times  that  city  has 
remained  a  true  republic  with  liberal  republican  sen- 
timents. If  George  III.  could  have  been  guided  by 
the  advice  of  London,  as  expressed  by  its  great  alder- 
man Beckford,  the  American  colonies  would  not  have 
been  driven  into  rebellion. 

The  most  signal  part  played  by  the  English  bor- 
oughs and  cities,  in  securing  English  freedom,  dates 
from  the  thirteenth  century,  when  the  nation  was 
vaguely  struggling  for  representative  government  on 
a  national  scale,  as  a  means  of  curbing  the  power  of 
the  crown.  In  that  memorable  struggle,  the  issue  of 
which  to  some  extent  prefigured  the  shape  that  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  was  to  take  five  hundred 


110  THE   CITY. 

years  afterward,  the  cities  and  boroughs  supported 
Simon  de  Siinon  de  Montfort,  the  leader  of  the  poj)- 
S'thT*  ^1^1'  pai"ty  and  one  of  the  foremost  among 
cities.  ^jjg  heroes  and  martyrs  of  English  liberty. 

Accordingly  on  the  morrow  of  his  decisive  victory  at 
Lewes  in  1264,  when  for  the  moment  he  stood  master 
of  England,  as  Cromwell  stood  four  centuries  later, 
Simon  called  a  parliament  to  settle  the  affairs  of  the 
kingdom,  and  to  this  parliament  he  invited,  along  with 
the  lords  who  came  by  hereditary  custom,  not  only 
two  elected  representatives  from  each  rural  county, 
but  also  two  elected  representatives  from  each  city  and 
borough.  In  this  parliament,  which  met  in  1265, 
the  combination  of  rural  with  urban  representatives 
brought  all  parts  of  England  together  in  a  grand 
repi'esentative  body,  the  House  of  Commons,  with 
interests  in  commou  ;  and  thus  the  people  presently 
gained  power  enough  to  defeat  all  attempts  to  estab- 
lish irresponsible  government,  such  as  we  call  despot- 
ism, on  the  part  of  the  crown. 

If  we  look  at  the  later  history  of  English  cities  and 
boroughs,  it  appears  that,  in  spite  of  the  splendid 
work  which  they  did  for  the  English  people  at  large, 
they  did  not  always  succeed  in  preserving  their  own 
liberties  unimpaired.  London,  indeed,  has 
abuses  in  always  maintained  its  character  as  a  truly  rep- 
cities  (cir.      resentative  reijublic.     But  in  many  English 

1500-1835).  .    .  1       .  ,        m     1  TO  -1 

Cities,  during  the  1  udor  and  otuart  periods, 
the  mayor  and  aldermen  contrived  to  dispense  with 
popular  election,  and  thus  to  become  close  corporations 
or  self-perpetuating  oligarchical  bodies.  There  was  a 
notable  tendency  toward  this  sort  of  irresponsible 
government  in  the  reign  of  James  I.,  and  the  Puri- 
tans who  came  to  the  shores  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
were  inspired  with  a  feeling  of  revolt  against  such 


ENGLISH  BOROUGHS  AND   CITIES.        Ill 

methods.  This  doubtless  lent  an  emphasis  to  the 
mood  in  which  they  proceeded  to  organize  themselves 
into  free  self-governing  townships.  The  oligarchical 
abuses  in  English  cities  and  boroughs  remained  until 
they  were  swept  away  by  the  great  Municipal  Reform 
Act  of  1835. 

The  first  city  governments  established  in  America 
were  framed  in  conscious  imitation  of  the  correspond- 
ing institutions  in  England.  The  oldest  city  govern- 
ment in  the  United  States  is  that  of  New  York.  Shortly 
after  the  town  was  taken  from  the  Dutch  in  1664,  the 
new  governor,  Colonel  Nichols,  put  an  end  to  its 
Dutch  form  of  government,  and  ajopointed  a  mayor, 
five  aldermen,  and  a  sheriff.  These  officers  Government 
appointed  inferior  officers,  such  as  consta-  ofNew*York 
bles,  and  little  or  nothing  was  left  to  popular  (I'^^^^^^i). 
election.  But  in  1686,  under  Governor  Dongan,  New 
York  was  regularly  incorporated  and  chartered  as  a 
city.  Its  constitution  bore  an  especially  close  resem- 
blance to  that  of  Norwich,  then  the  third  city  in  Eng- 
land in  size  and  importance.  The  city  of  New  York 
was  divided  into  six  wards.  The  governing  corpora- 
tion consisted  of  the  mayor,  the  recorder,  the  town- 
clerk,  six  aldermen,  and  six  assistants.  All  the  land 
not  taken  up  by  individual  owners  was  granted  as  public 
land  to  the  corporation,  which  in  return  paid  into  the 
British  exchequer  one  beaver-skin  yearly.  This  was 
a  survival  of  the  old  quit-rent  or  firma  hurgi}  The 
city  was  made  a  county,  and  thus  had  its  court,  its 
sheriff  and  coroner,  and  its  high  constable.  Other 
officers  were  the  chamberlain  or  treasurer,  seven  infe- 
rior constables,  a  sergeant-at-arms,  and  a  clerk  of  the 
market,  who  inspected  weights  and  measures,  and  pun- 

^  Jameson,    "  The  Municipal   Governuient    of    New   York," 
Mag.  Ajuer.  Hist.,  vol.  viii.  p.  009. 


112  THE   CITY. 

ished  delinquencies  in  the  use  o£  them.  The  principal 
judge  was  the  recorder,  who,  as  we  have  just  seen, 
was  one  of  the  corporation.  The  aldermen,  assist- 
ants, and  constables  were  elected  annually  by  the 
people ;  but  the  mayor  and  sheriff  were  appointed  by 
the  governor.  The  recorder,  town-clerk,  and  clerk  of 
the  market  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  king,  but  in 
case  the  king  neglected  to  act,  these  appointments 
also  were  made  by  the  governor.  The  high  consta- 
ble was  appointed  by  the  mayor,  the  treasurer  by 
the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  assistants,  who  seem  to 
have  answered  to  the  ordinary  common  council.  The 
mayor,  recorder,  and  aldermen,  without  the  assistants, 
were  a  judicial  body,  and  held  a  weekly  court  of  com- 
mon pleas.  When  the  assistants  were  added,  the 
whole  became  a  legislative  body  empowered  to  enact 
by-laws. 

Although  this  charter  granted  very  imperfect  powers 
of  self-government,  the  people  contrived  to  live  under 
it  for  a  hundred  and  thirty-five  years,  until  1821. 
Before  the  Revolution  their  petitions  succeeded  in  ob- 
taining only  a  few  unimportant  amendments.^  When 
the  British  army  captured  the  city  in  September,  1776, 
it  was  forthwith  placed  under  martial  law,  and  so  re- 
mained until  the  army  dej^arted  in  November,  1783. 
During  those  seven  years  New  York  was  not  altogether 
a  comfortable  place  in  which  to  live.  After  1783  the 
city  government  remained  as  before,  except  that  the 
state  of  New  York  assumed  the  control  formerly  ex- 
ercised by  the  British  crown.  Mayor  and  recorder, 
town-clerk  and  sheriff,  were  now  appointed  by  a  coun- 
cil of  appointment  consisting  of  the  governor  and 
four  senators.  This  did  not  work  well,  and  the  con- 
stitution of  1821  gave  to  the  people   the  power  of 

^  Especially  in  the  so-called  Montgomerie  charter  of  1730. 


ENGLISH  BOROUGHS  AND   CITIES.        113 

choosing  their  sheriiff  and  town-clerk,  while  the  mayor 
was  to  be  elected  by  the  common  council.  Nothing 
but  the  appointment  of  the  recorder  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  governor.  Thus  nearly  forty  years  after 
the  close  of  the  War  of  Independence  the  city  of 
New  York  acquired  self-government  as  complete  as 
that  of  the  city  of  London.  In  1857,  as  we  shall  see, 
this  self-government  was  greatly  curtailed,  with  re- 
sults more  or  less  disastrous. 

The  next  city  governments  to  be  organized  in  the 
American  colonies,  after  that  of  New  York,  were 
those  of  Philadelphia,  incorporated  in  1701,  and  An- 
napolis, incorporated  in  1708.  These  govern-  city  govern- 
ments were  framed  after  the  wretched  pat-  phuadeiphia 
tern  then  so  common  in  England.  In  both  (^'O^-^'^^)- 
cases  the  mayor,  the  recorder,  the  aldermen,  and  the 
common  council  constituted  a  close  self -electing  cor- 
poration. The  resulting  abuses  were  not  so  great  as 
in  England,  probably  because  the  cities  were  so  small. 
But  in  course  of  time,  especially  in  Philadelphia 
as  it  increased  in  popvdation,  the  viciousness  of  the 
system  was  abundantly  illustrated.  As  the  people 
could  not  elect  the  governing  corporation  or  any  of  its 
members,  they  very  naturally  and  reasonably  dis- 
trusted it,  and  through  the  legislature  they  contrived 
so  to  limit  its  powers  of  taxation  that  it  was  really 
unable  to  keep  the  streets  in  repair,  to  light  them  at 
night,  or  to  support  an  adequate  police  force.  An 
attempt  was  made  to  sup})ly  such  wants  by  creating 
divers  independent  boards  of  commissioners,  one  for 
paving  and  draining,  another  for  street-lamps  and 
watchmen,  a  third  for  town-pumps,  and  so  on.  In  this 
way  responsibility  got  so  minutely  parcelled  out  and 
scattered,  and  there  was  so  much  jealousy  and  wrang- 
ling between  the  different  boards  and  the  corporation, 


114  THE   CITY. 

that  the  result  was  chaos.  The  public  money  was 
liabitually  wasted  and  occasionally  embezzled,  and 
there  was  general  dissatisfaction.  In  1789  the  close 
corporation  was  abolished,  and  thereafter  the  aldermen 
and  common  council  were  elected  by  the  citizens,  the 
mayor  was  chosen  by  the  aldermen  out  of  their  own 
number,  and  the  recorder  was  appointed  by  the  mayor 
and  aldermen.  Thus  Philadelphia  obtained  a  repre- 
sentative government. 

These  instances  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
sufficiently  illustrate  the  beginnings  of  city  govern- 
ment in  the  United  States.  In  each  case  the  system 
was  copied  from  England  at  a  time  when  city  govern- 
ment in  England  was  sadly  demoralized.  What  was 
copied  was  not  the  free  republic  of  London,  with  its 
noble  traditions  of  civic  honour  and  sagacious  public 
spirit,  but  the  imperfect  republics  or  oligarchies  iuto 
which  the  lesser  English  boroughs  were  sinking,  amid 
the  foul  political  intrigues  and  corruption  which  char- 
acterized the  Stuart  period.  The  government  of 
American  cities  in  our  own  time  is  admitted  on  all 
Traditions  kauds  to  bc  far  from  satisfactory.  It  is  in- 
ernmen/*'^"  tcrestiug  to  obscrvc  that  the  cities  which  had 
lacking.  municipal  government  before  the  Revolu- 
tion, though  they  have  always  had  their  full  share  of 
able  and  high-minded  citizens,  do  not  possess  even  the 
tradition  of  good  government.  And  the  difficulty,  in 
those  colonial  times,  was  plainly  want  of  adequate 
self-government,  want  of  responsibility  on  the  part  of 
the  public  servants  toward  their  employers  the  people. 

QUESTIONS    ON   THE    TEXT. 

r.  What  was  the  origin  of  the  caaten  and  chesters  that  are  found 

in  England  to-day  ? 
2.  Trace  the  development  of  the  English  borongh  until  it  be« 

came  a  kind  of  hundred. 


ENGLISH  BOROUGHS  AND   CITIES.        115 

3.  Compare  this  borough  with  the  huudred  in  the  administra^ 

tion  of  justice. 

4.  Trace  the  further  development  of  the  borough  iu  cases  in 

which  it  became  a  county. 

5.  Illustrate  this  development  with  London,  showing  how  the 

elements  of  the  township,  the  hundred,  and  the  shire  gov- 
ernment enter  into  its  civic  organization. 

6.  Explain  the  origin  and  the  objects  of  the  various  guilds. 

7.  Speak  of  the  "  town  guild  "  under  the  following  heads  :  — 

a.  Its  composition  and  power. 

b.  Its  relation  to  citizenship. 

c.  Its  place  of  meeting. 

d.  The  aldermen. 

€.  The  common  council. 
f.  The  chief  magistrate. 

8.  Compare   the   government   of   London  with   that  of  Great 

Britain  or  of  the  United  States. 

9.  Give  some  account  of  the   lord  mayor,  the  aldermen,  and 

the  councilmen  of  London. 

10.  Distinguish  between  London  the  city  and  London  the  me- 

tropolis. 

11.  Show  how  the  English  cities  and  boroughs  became  bulwarks 

of  liberty  by  (1)  their  facilities  for  obtaining  justice,  (2) 
the  strength  of  their  walls,  and  (3)  the  length  of  their 
purses. 

12.  Contrast  the  power  of  London  with  that  of  the  throne. 

13.  What  notable  advance  in  government  was  made  under  the 

leadership  of  Simon  de  Montfort  ? 

14.  ^Vliat  abuses  crept  into  the  government    of  many  of   the 

English  cities  ? 

15.  What  was  the  Puritan  attitude  towards  such  abuses  ? 

1 6.  Give  an  account  of  the  government  of  New  York  city  :  — 
a.  The  charter  of  168G. 

h.  The  governing  corporation. 

c.  The  public  land. 

d.  The  city's  privileges  as  a  county. 

e.  Officers  by  election  and  by  appointment. 

f.  Judicial  functions. 

g.  Martial  law. 

h.  The  charter  of  1821. 

17.  Give  an  account  of  the  government  of  Philadelphia  :  — 
a.  The  governments  after  which  it  was  patterned. 


116  THE   CITY. 

h.  The  viciousness  of  the  system  adopted. 

c.  The  legislative  interference  that  was  thus  provoked. 

d.  The  division   of  responsibility   and   the    results   of   such 

division. 

e.  The  nature  of  the  changes  made  in  1789. 

1 8.  Why  are  the  traditions  of  good  government  lacking  in  the 
older  American  cities  ? 

§  3.   The  Government  of  Cities  in  the  United  States. 

At  the  present  day  American  municipal  govern- 
ments are  for  the  most  part  constructed  on  the  same 
general  plan,  though  with  many  variations  in  detail. 
Several  fea-  There  is  an  executive  department,  with  the 
dty^go^vern-'  mayor  at  its  head.  The  mayor  is  elected 
ments.  j^^  ^j^g  votcrs  of  the  city,  and  holds  office 

generally  for  one  year,  but  sometimes  for  two  or 
three  years,  and  in  St.  Louis  and  Philadelphia  even 
for  four  years.  Under  the  mayor  are  various  heads  of 
departments,  —  street  commissioners,  assessors,  over- 
seers of  the  poor,  etc.,  —  sometimes  elected  by  the 
citizens,  sometimes  appointed  by  the  mayor  or  the 
city  council.  This  city  council  is  a  legislative  body, 
usually  consisting  of  two  chambers,  the  aldermen  and 
the  common  council,  elected  by  the  citizens ;  but  in 
many  small  cities,  and  a  few  of  the  largest,  —  such  as 
New  York,  Brooldyn,  Chicago,  and  San  Francisco,  — 
there  is  but  one  such  chamber.  Then  there  are  city 
judges,  sometimes  appointed  by  the  governor  of  the 
state,  to  serve  for  life  or  during  good  behaviour,  but 
usually  elected  by  the  citizens  for  short  terms. 

All  appropriations  of  money  for  city  purposes  are 
made  by  the  city  council ;  and  as  a  general  rule  this 
council  has  some  control  over  the  heads  of  executive 
departments,  which  it  exercises  through  conunittees. 
Thus  there  may  be  a  committee  upon  streets,  upon 
public  buildings,  upon  parks  or  almshouses  or  what- 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  117 

ever  the  municipal  government  is  concerned  with. 
The  head  of  a  department  is  more  or  less  dependent 
upon  his  committee,  and  in  practice  this  is  found  to 
divide  and  weaken  responsibility.  The  heads  of  de- 
partments are  apt  to  be  independent  of  one  another, 
and  to  owe  no  allegiance  in  common  to  any  one. 
The  mayor,  when  he  appoints  them,  usually  does  so 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  city  council  or  of  one 
branch  of  it.  The  mayor  is  usually  not  a  member  of 
the  city  council,  but  can  veto  its  enactments,  which 
however  can  be  passed  over  his  veto  by  a  two  thirds 
majority. 

City  governments  thus  constituted  are  something 
like  state  governments  in  miniature.  The  relation 
of  the  mayor  to  the  city  council  is  somewhat  like  that 
of  the  governor  to  the  state  legislature,  and  of  the 
president  to  the  national  congress.    In  theory 

^  ,  .  They  do  not 

nothing  could  well  be  more  republican,  or  seem  to  work 
more  unlike  such  city  governments  as  those 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  before  the  Revolution. 
Yet  in  practice  it  does  not  seem  to  work  well.  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  seem  to  have  heai'd  as  many 
complaints  in  the  nineteenth  century  as  in  the  eigh- 
teenth, and  the  same  kind  of  complaints,  —  of  exces- 
sive taxation,  public  money  wasted  or  embezzled,  ill- 
paved  and  dirty  streets,  inefficient  police,  and  so  on 
to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  In  most  of  our  large  cities 
similar  evils  have  been  witnessed,  and  in  too  many  of 
the  smaller  ones  the  trouble  seems  to  be  the  same  in 
kind,  only  less  in  degree.  Our  republican  government, 
which,  after  making  all  due  allowances,  seems  to  work 
remarkably  well  in  rui*al  disti-icts,  and  in  the  states, 
and  in  the  nation,  has  certainly  been  far  less  success- 
ful as  applied  to  cities.  Accordingly  our  cities  have 
come  to  furnish  topics  for  reflection  to  which  writers 


118  THE   CITY. 

and  orators  fond  of  boasting  the  unapproachable  ex- 
cellence of  American  institutions  do  not  like  to  allude. 
Fifty  years  ago  we  were  wont  to  speak  of  civil  govern- 
ment in  the  United  States  as  if  it  had  dropped  from 
heaven  or  had  been  specially  created  by  some  kind  of 
miracle  upon  American  soil ;  and  we  were  apt  to  think 
that  in  mere  republican  forms  there  was  some  kind 
of  mystic  virtue  which  made  them  a  panacea  for  all 
political  evils.  Our  later  experience  with  cities  has 
rudely  disturbed  this  too  confident  frame  of  mind. 
It  has  furnished  facts  which  do  not  seem  to  fit  our 
self-complacent  theory,  so  that  now  our  writers  and 
speakers  are  inclined  to  vent  their  spleen  upon  the 
unhappy  cities,  perhaps  too  unreservedly.  We  hear 
them  called  "  foul  sinks  of  corruption  "  and  "  plague 
spots  on  our  body  politic."  Yet  in  all  probability  our 
cities  are  destined  to  increase  in  number  and  to  grow 
larger  and  larger ;  so  that  perhaps  it  is  just  as  well  to 
consider  them  calmly,  as  presenting  problems  wliich 
had  not  been  thought  of  when  our  general  theory  of 
government  was  first  worked  out  a  hundred  years  ago, 
but  which,  after  we  have  been  sufficiently  taught  by 
experience,  we  may  hope  to  succeed  in  solving,  just 
as  we  have  heretofore  succeeded  in  other  things.  A 
general  discussion  of  the  subject  does  not  fall  witliin 
the  province  of  this  brief  historical  sketch.  But  our 
account  would  be  very  incomplete  if  we  were  to  stop 
short  of  mentioning  some  of  the  recent  attempts  that 
have  been  made  toward  reconstructing  our  theories  of 
city  government  and  improving  its  practical  working. 
And  first,  let  us  ])oint  out  a  few  of  the  pecul- 
cuities  to  be    lar  difficulties  of  the  problem,  that  we  may 

stated.  •Ill  1 

see  why  we  might  have  been  expected,  up  to 
the  present  time,  to  have  been  less  successful  in  man- 
aging our  great  cities  than  in  managing  our  rural 
communities,  and  our  states,  and  our  nation. 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  119 

In  the  first  place,  the  problem  is  comparatively  uew 
and  has  taken  us  unawares.  At  the  time  of  Wash- 
ington's inauguration  to  the  presidency  there  were  no 
large  cities  in  the  United  States.  Philadelphia  had 
a  popidatioa  of  42,000 ;  New  York  had  j^^^pj^ 
33,000;  Boston,  which  came  next,  with  f^^l^l 
18,000,  was  not  yet  a  city.  Then  came  *''"''^- 
Baltimore,  with  13,000  ;  while  Brooklyn  was  a  village 
of  1,600  souls.  Now  these  five  cities  have  a  popida- 
tion  of  more  than  4,000,(M)0,  or  more  than  that  of  the 
United  States  in  1789.  And  consider  how  rapidly 
new  cities  have  been  added  to  the  list.  One  hardly 
needs  to  mention  the  most  striking  cases,  such  as 
Chicago,  with  4,000  inhabitants  in  1840,  and  at  least 
1,000,000  in  1890  ;  or  Denver,  with  its  miles  of  hand- 
some streets  and  shops,  and  not  one  native  inhabitant 
who  has  reached  his  thirtieth  birthday.  Such  facts 
are  summed  up  in  the  general  statement  that,  whereas 
in  1790  the  population  of  the  United  States  was 
scarcely  4,000,000,  and  out  of  each  100  inhabitants 
only  3  dwelt  in  cities  and  the  other  97  in  rijral  places ; 
on  the  other  hand  in  1880,  when  the  population  was 
more  than  50,000,000,  out  of  each  100  inhabitants  23 
dwelt  in  cities  and  77  in  rural  places.  But  duly  to 
appreciate  the  rapidity  of  this  growth  of  cities,  we 
nuist  observe  that  most  of  it  has  been  subsequent  to 
1840.  In  1790  there  were  six  towns  in  the  United 
States  that  might  be  ranked  as  cities  from  their  size, 
though  to  get  this  number  we  must  include  Boston. 
In  1800  the  number  was  the  same.  By  1810  the 
number  had  risen  from  G  to  11 ;  by  1820  it  had 
reached  13  ;  by  1830  this  thirteen  had  doubled  and 
become  26 ;  and  in  1840  there  were  44  cities  al- 
together. The  .urban  population  increased  from 
210,873   in   1800   to   1,453,994   in   1840.      But  be- 


120  THE   CITY. 

tween  1840  and  1880  tlie  number  of  new  cities  wHoh 
came  into  existence  was  242,  and  the  urban  popula- 
tion increased  to  11,318,547.  Nothing  like  this  was 
ever  known  before  in  any  part  of  the  world,  and  per- 
haps it  is  not  strange  that  such  a  tremendous  develop- 
ment did  not  find  our  methods  of  government  fully 
prepared  to  deal  with  it. 

This  rapidity  of  growth  has  entailed  some  impor- 
tant consequences.  In  the  first  place  it  obliges  the 
Some  conse-  ^ity  to  makc  great  outlays  of  money  in  order 
thfs'rTpid^  to  get  immediate  results.  Public  works 
growth.  must  be  undertaken  with  a  view  to  quick- 
ness rather  than  thoroughness.  Pavements,  sewers, 
and  reservoirs  of  some  sort  must  be  had  at  once,  even 
if  inadequately  planned  and  imperfectly  constructed  ; 
and  so,  before  a  great  while,  the  work  must  be  done 
over  again.  Such  conditions  of  imperative  haste  in- 
crease the  temptations  to  dishonesty  as  well  as  the 
liability  to  errors  of  judgment  on  the  part  of  the  men 
who  administer  the  public  funds.^  Then  the  rapid 
growth  of  a  city,  especially  of  a  new  city,  requiring  the 
immediate  construction  of  a  certain  amount  of  public 
works,  almost  necessitates  the  borrowing  of  money, 
and  debt  means  heavy  taxes.  It  is  like  the  case  of 
a  young  man  who,  in  order  to  secure  a  home  for  his 
quickly  growing  family,  buys  a  house  under  a  heavy 
mortgage.  Twice  a  year  there  comes  in  a  great  bill 
for  interest,  and  in  order  to  meet  it  he  must  econo- 
mize in  his  table  or  now  and  then  deny  himself  a  new 
suit  of  clothes.     So  if  a  city  has  to  tax  heavily  to  pay 

^  This  and  some  of  the  followinfj  considerations  have  been 
ably  set  forth  and  illustrated  by  Hon.  Seth  Low,  president  of 
Columbia  College,  and  lately  mayor  of  Brooklyn,  in  an  address 
at  Johns  Hopkins  University,  published  in  /.  //.  U,  Studies, 
Supplementary  Notes,  no.  4. 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  121 

its  debts,  it  must  cut  clown  its  current  expenses  some- 
where, and  the  results  are  sure  to  be  visible  in  more 
or  less  untidiness  and  inefficiency.  Mr.  Low  tells  us 
that  "  very  few  of  our  American  cities  have  yet  paid 
in  full  the  cost  of  their  original  water-works."  Lastly, 
much  wastefulness  results  from  want  of  foresight.  It 
is  not  easy  to  predict  how  a  city  will  grow,  or  the  na- 
ture of  its  needs  a  few  years  hence.  Moreover,  even 
when  it  is  easy  enough  to  predict  a  result,  it  is  not 
easy  to  secure  practical  foresight  on  the  jjart  of  a  city 
council  elected   for  the  current  year.      Its  ^ 

•^  Want  of 

members   are   afraid   of   making   taxes  too  practical 

.  T  .  »  loresight. 

heavy  this  year,  and  considerations  of  ten 
years  hence  are  apt  to  be  dismissed  as  "  visionary." 
It  is  always  hard  for  us  to  realize  how  terribly  soon 
ten  years  hence  will  be  here.  The  habit  of  doing 
things  by  halves  has  been  often  commented  on  (and, 
perhaps,  even  more  by  our  own  writers  than  by  for- 
eigners) as  especially  noticeable  in  America.  It  has 
doubtless  been  fostered  by  the  conditions  which  in  so 
many  cases  have  made  it  absolutely  necessary  to  adopt 
temporary  makeshifts.  These  conditions  have  pro- 
duced a  certain  habit  of  mind. 

Let  us  now  observe  that  as  cities  increase  in  size 
the  amount  of  government  that  is  necessary  tends  in 
some  respects  to  increase.     Wherever  there 

■■■  ^        ^  Growtli  in 

is  a  crowd  there  is  likely  to  be  some  need  of  complexity 

•^  of  govern- 

rules   and   regulations.     In    the    country   a  mentiu 

_  °        ^  ''  cities. 

man  may  build  his  house  pretty  much  as  he 
pleases ;  but  in  the  city  he  may  be  forbidden  to  build 
it  of  wood,  and  perhaps  even  the  thickness  of  the 
party  walls  or  the  position  of  the  chimneys  may  come 
in  for  some  supervision  on  the  part  of  the  govern- 
ment. For  further  precaution  against  spreading  fires, 
the  city  has  an  organized  force  of  men,  with  costly 


122  THE   CITY. 

engines,  engine-houses,  and  stables.  In  the  country 
a  board  of  health  has  comparatively  little  to  do ;  in 
the  city  it  is  often  confronted  with  difficult  sanitary 
problems  which  call  for  highly  paid  professional  skill 
on  the  part  of  physicians  and  chemists,  architects  and 
plumbers,  masons  and  engineers.  So,  too,  the  water 
supply  of  a  great  city  is  likely  to  be  a  complicated 
business,  and  the  police  force  may  well  need  as  much 
management  as  a  small  army.  In  short,  with  a  city, 
increase  in  size  is  sure  to  involve  increase  in  complex- 
ity of  organization,  and  this  means  a  vast  increase  in 
the  number  of  officials  for  doing  the  work  and  of  de- 
tails to  be  superintended.  For  example,  let  us  enu- 
merate the  executive  department  and  officers  of  the 
city  of  Boston  at  the  present  time. 

There  are  three  street  commissioners  with  power  to 
lay  out  streets  and  assess  damages  thereby  occasioned. 
These  are  elected  by  the  people.  Tlie  following  offi- 
cers are  appointed  by  the  mayor,  with  the  con- 
offlt  ers  in  currcucc  of  the  aldermen  :  a  superintendent 
of  streets,  an  inspector  of  buildings,  three 
commissioners  each  for  the  fire  and  health  departments, 
four  overseers  of  the  poor,  besides  a  board  of  nine 
directors  for  the  management  of  almshouses,  houses  of 
correction,  lunatic  hospital,  etc. ;  a  city  hospital  board 
of  five  members,  five  trustees  of  the  public  library, 
three  commissioners  each  for  parks  and  water-works : 
five  chief  assessors,  to  estimate  the  value  of  property 
and  assess  city,  county,  and  state  taxes  ;  a  city  collec- 
tor, a  superintendent  of  public  buildings,  five  trus- 
tees of  Mount  Hope  Cemetery,  six  sinking  fund  com- 
missioners, two  record  commissioners,  three  registrars 
of  voters,  a  registrar  of  births,  deaths,  and  marriages, 
a  city  treasurer,  city  auditor,  city  solicitor,  corporation 
counsel,  city  architect,  city  surveyor,  superintendent  of 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  123 

Faneuil  Hall  Market,  superintendent  of  street  lights, 
superintendent  of  sewers,  superintendent  of  printing, 
superintendent  of  bridges,  five  directors  of  ferries, 
harbour  master  and  ten  assistants,  water  registrar,  in- 
spector of  provisions,  inspector  of  milk  and  vinegar, 
a  sealer  and  four  deputy  sealers  of  weights  and  meas- 
ures, an  inspector  of  lime,  three  inspectors  of  petro- 
leum, fifteen  inspectors  of  pressed  hay,  a  culler  of 
hoops  and  staves,  three  fence-viewers,  ten  field-drivers 
and  pound-keepers,  three  surveyors  of  marble,  nine 
superintendents  of  hay  scales,  four  measurers  of  upper 
leather,  fifteen  measurers  of  wood  and  bark,  twenty 
measurers  of  grain,  three  weighers  of  beef,  thirty- 
eight  weighers  of  coal,  five  weighers  of  boilers  and 
heavy  machinery,  four  weighers  of  ballast  and  lighters, 
ninety-two  undertakers,  150  constables,  968  election 
officers  and  their  deputies.  A  few  of  these  officials 
serve  without  pay,  some  are  paid  by  salaries  fixed  by 
the  council,  some  by  fees.  Besides  these  there  is  a 
clerk  of  the  common  council  elected  by  that  body,  and 
also  the  city  clerk,  city  messenger,  and  clerk  of  com- 
mittees, in  whose  election  both  branches  of  the  city 
council  concur.  The  school  committee,  of  twenty- 
four  members,  elected  by  the  people,  is  distinct  from 
the  rest  of  the  city  government,  and  so  is  the  board  of 
police,  composed  of  three  commissioners  appointed  by 
the  state  executive.^ 

This  long  list  may  serve  to  give   some  idea  of  the 
mere    quantity   of   administrative   work   re-  how  city 
quired  in  a  large   city.       Obviously  under  ^°^,fj" 
such  circumstances  city  government  must  be-  *  "mystery. 
come  more  or  less  of  a  mystery  to  the  great  mass  of  cit- 
izens.    They  cannot  watch  its  operations  as  the  inluib- 

1  Bugbee,  "  The  City  Goveriiuieut  of  Boston,"  /.  H.  U.  Studies, 
v.,  iii. 


nient 
to  be 


124  THE   CITY. 

itants  of  a  small  village  can  watch  the  proceedings  of 
their  township  and  connty  governments.  Mnch  work 
must  go  on  which  cannot  even  be  intelligently  crit- 
icised without  such  special  knowledge  as  it  would  be 
idle  to  expect  in  the  average  voter,  or  perhaps  in  any 
voter.  It  becomes  exceedingly  difficult  for  the  tax- 
payer to  understand  just  what  his  money  goes  for,  or 
how  far  the  city  expenses  might  reasonably  be  reduced  ; 
and  it  becomes  correspondingly  easy  for  municijial  cor- 
ruption to  start  and  acquire  a  considerable  headway 
before  it  can  be  detected  and  checked. 

In  some  respects  city  government  is  harder  to  watch 

intelligently  than  the  government  of  the  state  or  of 

the  nation.     For  these  wider  governments  are  to  some 

extent  limited  to  work  of  general  supervi- 

In  some  re-         ,  .  ,  .  , 

spects  it  is      siou.     As  Compared  with  the  city,  they  are 

more  of  a  i-ii  iti  i 

mystery        morc  conccmed  with  the  establishment  and 

than  state  .  i  •        •     i 

and  national  enforcement  of    certain   general   principles, 

government.  .ii  ^       .     .  .  i  ni 

and  less  with  the  administration  or  endlessly 
complicated  details.  I  do  not  mean  to  be  understood 
as  saying  that  there  is  not  plenty  of  intricate  detail 
about  state  and  national  governments.  I  am  only 
comparing  one  thing  with  another,  and  it  seems  to  me 
that  one  chief  difficulty  with  city  government  is  the 
bewildering  vastness  and  multifariousness  of  the  de- 
tails with  which  it  is  concerned.  The  modern  city 
has  come  to  be  a  huge  corporation  for  carrying  on  a 
huge  business  with  many  branches,  most  of  which  call 
for  special  aptitude  and  training. 

As  these  points  have  gradually  forced  themselves 
upon  public  attention  there  has  been  a  tendency  in  many 
The  mayor  of  our  large  citics  toward  remodelling  their 
too'^mtie"*^  governments  on  new  principles.  The  most 
power.  noticeable  feature  of    this  tendency  is   the 

increase  in  the   powers   of    the   mayor.      A    hundred 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  125 

years  ago  our  legislators  and  constitution-makers  were 
much  afraid  of  what  was  called  the  "one-man  power." 
In  nearly  all  the  colonies  a  chronic  quarrel  had  been 
kept  up  between  the  governors  appointed  by  the  king 
and  the  legislators  elected  by  the  people,  and  this  had 
made  the  "  one-man  power  "  very  unpopular.  Besides, 
it  was  something  that  had  been  unpopular  in  ancient 
Greece  and  Rome,  and  it  was  thought  to  be  essentially 
unrepublican  in  principle.  Accordingly  our  great- 
grandfathers preferred  to  entrust  executive  powers  to 
committees  rather  than  to  single  individuals  ;  and  when 
they  assigned  an  important  office  to  an  individual  they 
usually  took  pains  to  curtail  its  power  and  influence. 
This  disposition  was  visible  in  our  early  attempts  to 
organize  city  governments  like  little  republics.  First, 
in  the  board  of  aldermen  and  the  common  council  we 
had  a  two-chambered  legislature.  Then,  lest  the  mayor 
should  become  dangerous,  the  veto  power  was  at  first 
generally  withheld  from  him,  and  his  appointments  of 
executive  officers  needed  to  be  confirmed  by  at  least 
one  branch  of  the  city  council.  These  executive  offi- 
cers, moreover,  as  already  observed,  were  subject  to 
more  or  less  control  or  oversight  from  committees  of 
the  city  council. 

Now  this  system,  in  depriving  the  mayor  of  power, 
deprived  him  of  responsibility,  and  left  the  responsi- 
bility nowhere  in  particular.  In  making  ap-  scattering 
pointments  the  mayor  and  council  would  euiugof're. 
come  to  some  sort  of  compromise  with  each  »po"8''»»^'*y- 
other  and  exchange  *  favours.  Perhaps  for  private 
reasons  incompetent  or  dishonest  officers  w^ould  get 
appointed,  and  if  the  citizens  ventured  to  complain 
the  mayor  would  say  that  he  appointed  as  good  men 
as  the  council  could  be  induced  to  confirm,  and  the 
council    would    declare    their    willintrness  to    confirm 


126  THE   CITY. 

good  appointments  if  the  mayor  could  only  be  per- 
suaded to  make  them. 

Then  the  want  o£  subordination  of  the  different 
executive  departments  made  it  impossible  to  secure 
unity  of  administration  or  to  carry  out  any  consistent 
and  generally  intelligible  policy.  Between  the  vari- 
ous executive  officers  and  visiting  committees  there 
was  apt  to  be  a  more  or  less  extensive  interchange  of 
favours,  or  what  is  called  "  log-rolling  ; "  and  sums  of 
money  would  be  voted  by  the  council  only  thus  to 
leak  away  in  undertakings  the  propriety  or  necessity 
of  which  was  perhaps  hard  to  determine.  There  was 
no  responsible  head  who  could  be  quickly  and  sharply 
called  to  account.  Each  official's  hands  were  so  tied 
that  whatever  went  wrong  he  could  declare  that  it  was 
not  his  fault.  The  confusion  was  enhanced  by  the 
practice  of  giving  executive  work  to  committees  or 
Committees  hoards  iustcad  of  single  officers.  Benjamin 
forfxecutive  Franklin  used  to  say,  If  you  wish  to  be  sure 
purposes.  ^y^^^  ^  tiling  is  douc,  go  and  do  it  yourself. 
Human  experience  certainly  proves  that  this  is  the 
only  absolutely  safe  way.  The  next  best  way  is  to 
send  some  competent  person  to  do  it  for  you  ;  and  if 
there  is  no  one  competent  to  be  had,  you  do  the  next 
best  thing  and  entrust  the  work  to  the  least  incompe- 
tent person  you  can  find.  If  you  entrust  it  to  a  com- 
mittee your  prospect  of  getting  it  done  is  diminished, 
and  it  grows  less  if  you  enlarge  your  committee.  By 
the  time  you  have  got  a  group  of  committees,  inde- 
pendent of  one  another  and  working  at  cross  pur- 
poses, you  have  got  Dickens's  famous  Circumlocution 
Office,  where  the  great  object  in  life  was  "  how  not  to 
do  it." 

Amid  the  general  dissatisfaction  over  the  extrava- 
gance  and    inefficiency  of  our  city  governments,  peo- 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  127 

pie's  attention  was  first  drawn  to  the  rapid  and  alarm- 
ing increase  of  city  indebtedness  in  various  increase  of 
parts  of  the  country.  A  heavy  debt  may  city  debts. 
ruin  a  city  as  surely  as  an  individual,  for  it  raises  the 
rate  of  taxation,  and  thus,  as  was  above  pointed  out,  it 
tends  to  frighten  people  and  capital  away  from  the  city. 
At  first  it  was  sought  to  curb  the  recklessness  of  city 
councils  in  incurring  lavish  expenditures  by  giving 
the  mayor  a  veto  power.  Laws  were  also  j)assed  lim- 
iting the  amount  of  debt  which  a  city  would  be  allowed 
to  incur  under  any  circumstances.  Clothing  the 
mayor  with  the  veto  power  is  now  seen  to  have  been  a 
wise  step ;  and  arbitrary  limitation  of  the  amount  of 
debt,  though  a  clumsy  expedient,  is  confessedly  a 
necessary  one.  But  beyond  this,  it  was  in  some  in- 
stances attempted  to  take  the  management 

,  p       .         ,         .  P     Attempt  to 

ot  some  departments  of  city  busmess  out  oi  cure  the 

111         CI-  11  •  1         ®^''  '^y  state 

the  hands  ot  the  city  and  put  them  into  the  interfer- 

1  1  c        1  1         •    1  rni  ^'"-'^  '  expe- 

hands  ot    the   state  legislature,      ihe    most  rieuceof 

11-  o      ^  ■  -AT  ^T      ^     •        ^ew  York. 

notable  instance  of  this  was  m  J\ew  lork  in 
1857.  The  results,  there  and  elsewhere,  have  been 
generally  regarded  as  unsatisfactory.  After  a  trial  of 
thirty  years  the  experience  of  New  York  has  proved 
that  a  state  legislature  is  not  competent  to  take  proper 
care  of  the  government  of  cities.  Its  members  do  not 
know  enough  about  the  details  of  each  locality,  and  con- 
sequently local  affairs  are  left  to  the  representatives 
from  each  locality,  with  "  log-rolling  "  as  the  inevita- 
ble result.  A  man  fresh  from  his  farm  on  the  edge 
of  the  Adirondacks  knows  nothing  about  the  problems 
pertaining  to  electric  wires  in  Broadway,  or  to  rapid 
transit  between  Harlem  and  the  Battery ;  and  his 
consent  to  desired  legislation  on  such  points  can  very 
j[ikely  be  obtained  only  by  favouring  some  measure 
which  he  thinks  will  improve  the  value  of  his  farm,  or 


128  THE   CITY. 

perhaps  by  helping  him  to  debauch  the  civil  service 
by  getting  some  neighbour  appointed  to  a  position  foi* 
which  he  is  not  qualified.  All  this  is  made  worse  by  the 
fact  that  the  members  of  a  state  government  are  gen- 
erally less  governed  by  a  sense  of  responsibility  toward 
the  citizens  of  a  particular  city  than  even  the  worst 
local  government  that  can  be  set  up  in  such  a  city.^ 

Moreover,  even  if  legislatures  were  otherwise  com- 
petent to  manage  the  local  affairs  of  cities,  they  have 
not  time  enough,  amid  the  pressure  of  other  duties, 
to  do  justice  to  such  matters.  In  1870  the  number 
of  acts  passed  by  the  New  York  legislature  was  808. 
Of  these,  212,  or  more  than  one  fourth  of  the  whole, 
related  to  cities  and  villages.  The  808  acts,  when 
printed,  filled  about  2,000  octavo  pages  ;  and  of  these 
the  212  acts  filled  more  than  1,500  pages.  This  illus- 
trates what  I  said  above  about  the  vast  quantity  of 
details  which  have  to  be  regulated  in  municipal  gov- 
ernment. Here  we  have  more  than  three  fourths  of 
the  volume  of  state-legislation  devoted  to  local  af- 
fairs ;  and  it  hardly  need  be  added  that  a  great  part 
of  these  enactments  were  worse  than  worthless  because 

^  It  is  not  intended  to  deny  that  there  may  be  instances  in 
which  the  state  government  may  advantageously  participate  in 
the  government  of  cities.  It  may  be  urged  that,  in  the  case  of 
great  cities,  like  New  York  or  Boston,  many  people  who  are  not 
residents  either  do  business  in  the  city  or  liave  vast  business  in- 
terests there,  and  thus  may  be  as  deeply  interested  in  its  welfare 
as  any  of  the  voters.  It  may  also  be  said  that  state  provisions 
for  city  government  do  not  always  work  badly.  There  are  many 
competent  judges  who  approve  of  the  appointment  of  police 
commissioners  by  the  executive  of  Massachusetts.  There  are 
generally  two  sides  to  a  question;  and  to  push  a  doctrine  to  ex- 
tremes is  to  make  oneself  a  doctrinaire  rather  than  a  wise  citi- 
zen. But  experience  clearly  shows  that  in  all  doubtful  cases  it  is 
safer  to  let  the  balance  incline  in  favour  of  local  self-government^ 
than  the  other  way. 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  129 

tbey  were  made  hastily  and  without  due  consideration, 
—  though  not  always,  perhaps,  without  what  lawyers 
call  a  consideration. 1 

The  experience  of  New  York  thus  proved  that  state 
intervention  and  special  legislation  did  not  mend  mat- 
ters. It  did  not  j)reveut  the  shameful  rule  of  the 
Tweed   Eino^  from   1868  to  1871,  when  a 

°  .  Tweed  Ring 

small  band  of  conspirators  ffot  themselves  in  New 
elected  or  appointed  to  the  princijjal  city 
offices,  and,  having  had  their  own  corrupt  creatures 
chosen  judges  of  the  city  courts,  proceeded  to  rob  the 
taxpayers  at  their  leisure.  By  the  time  they  were 
discovered  and  brought  to  justice,  their  stealings 
amounted  to  many  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  rate  of 
taxation  had  risen  to  more  than  two  per  cent. 

The  discovery  of  these  wholesale  robberies,  and  of 
other  villainies  on  a  smaller  scale  in  other  cities,  has 
led  to  much  discussion  of  the  problems  of  municipal 
government,  and  to  many  attempts   at   practical   re- 

^  Nothing  could  be  further  from  my  thought  than  to  cast  any 
special  imputation  upon  the  New  York  legislature,  which  is 
probably  a  fair  average  specimen  of  law-making  bodies.  The 
theory  of  legislative  bodies,  as  laid  down  iu  text-books,  is  that 
they  are  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  enacting  laws  for  the 
welfare  of  the  community  in  general.  In  point  of  fact  they 
seldom  rise  to  such  a  lofty  height  of  disinterestedness.  Legisla- 
tion is  usually  a  mad  scramble  in  which  the  final  result,  be  it 
good  or  bad,  gets  evolved  out  of  compromises  and  bargains 
among  a  swarm  of  clashing  local  and  personal  interests.  The 
"  consideration  "  may  be  anything  from  log-rolling  to  bribery. 
In  American  legislatures  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  downright  brib- 
ery is  rare.  As  for  log-rolling,  or  excliange  of  favours,  there 
are  many  phases  of  it  in  which  that  which  may  be  perfectly  in- 
nocent shades  off  by  almost  imperceptible  degrees  into  that 
which  is  unseemly  or  dishonourable  or  even  criminal  ;  and  it  is 
in  this  hazy  region  that  Satan  likes  to  set  his  traps  for  the  un- 
wary pilgrim. 


130  THE   CITY. 

form.  The  present  is  especially  a  period  of  experi- 
ments, yet  in  these  experiments  perhaps  a  Newexperi- 
general  drift  of  opinion  may  be  discerned.  '"®"*^' 
People  seem  to  be  coming  to  regard  cities  more  as  if 
they  were  huge  business  corporations  than  as  if  they 
were  little  republics.  The  lesson  has  been  learned 
that  in  executive  matters  too  much  limitation  of 
power  entails  destruction  of  responsibility  ;  the  "  ring  " 
is  now  more  dreaded  than  the  "  one-man  power ;  "  and 
there  is  accordingly  a  manifest  tendency  to  assail  the 
evil  by  concentrating  power  and  resjjonsibility  in  the 
mayor. 

The  first  great  city  to  adopt  this  method  was  Brook- 
lyn. In  the  first  place  the  city  council  was  simplified 
and  made  a  one-chambered  council  consist- 

,  ,       New  govem- 

ins;   of   nineteen    aldermen.      Besides    this  mentof 

~        _  Brooklyn. 

council  of  aldermen,  the  people  elect  only 
three  city  officers,  —  the  mayor,  comptroller,  and 
auditor.  The  comptroller  is  the  principal  finance 
officer  and  book-keeper  of  the  city  ;  and  the  auditor 
must  approve  bills  against  the  city,  whether  great  or 
small,  before  they  can  be  paid.  The  mayor  appoints, 
without  confirmation  by  the  council,  all  executive 
heads  of  departments ;  and  these  executive  heads  are 
individuals,  not  boards.  Thus  there  is  a  single  police 
commissioner,  a  single  fire  commissioner,  a  single 
health  commissioner,  and  so  on ;  and  each  of  these 
heads  appoints  his  own  subordinates ;  "  so  that  the 
principle  of  defined  responsibility  permeates  the  city 
government  from  top  to  bottom."  ^  In  a  few  cases, 
where  the  work  to  be  done  is  rather  discretionary 
than  executive  in  character,  it  is  intrusted  to  a  board  ; 
thus  there  is  a  board  of  assessors,  a  board  of  educa- 

^  Setli  Low  on  "  Municipal  Government,"  in  Bryce's  Amer- 
ican Commonweallh,  vol.  i.  p.  GllG. 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  131 

tion,  and  a  board  of  elections.  These  are  all  ap- 
pointed by  the  mayor,  but  for  terms  not  coinciding 
with  his  own ;  "  so  that,  in  most  cases,  no  mayor 
would  appoint  the  whole  of  any  such  board  unless  he 
were  to  be  twice  elected  by  the  people."  But  the 
executive  officers  are  appointed  by  the  mayor  for 
terms  coincident  with  his  own,  that  is  for  two  years. 
"  The  mayor  is  elected  at  the  general  election  in  No- 
vember ;  he  takes  office  on  the  first  of  January  fol- 
lowing, and  for  one  month  the  great  departments  of 
the  city  are  carried  on  for  him  by  the  appointees  of 
his  predecessor.  On  the  first  of  February  it  becomes 
his  duty  to  appoint  his  own  heads  of  departments," 
and  thus  "  each  incoming  mayor  has  the  opportunity 
to  make  an  administration  in  all  its  parts  in  sympathy 
with  himself." 

With  all  these  immense  executive  powers  entrusted 
to  the  mayor,  however,  he  does  not  hold  the  purse- 
strings.  He  is  a  member  of  a  board  of  estimate,  of 
which  the  other  four  members  are  the  comptroller  and 
auditor,  with  the  county  treasurer  and  supervisor. 
This  board  recommends  the  amounts  to  be  raised  by 
taxation  for  the  ensuing  year.  These  estimates  are 
then  laid  before  the  council  of  aldermen,  who  may 
cut  down  single  items  as  they  see  fit,  but  have  not  the 
power  to  increase  any  item.  The  mayor  must  see  to 
it  that  the  administrative  work  of  the  year  does  not 
use  up  more  money  than  is  thus  allowed  him. 

This  Brooklyn  system  has  great  merits.  It  ensures 
unity  of  administration,  it  encourages  promptness  and 
economy,  it  locates  and  defines  responsibility,  and  it  is 
so  simple  that  everybody  can  understand  it.  The  peo- 
ple, having  but  few  officers  to  elect,  are  more  g^^g  ^^  j^g 
likely  to  know  something  about  them.  Es-  '^'^"*®- 
pecially  since  everybody  understands  that  the  success 


132  THE   CITY. 

of  the  government  depends  upon  the  character  of  the 
mayor,  extraordinary  pains  are  taken  to  secure  good 
mayors ;  and  the  increased  interest  in  city  politics  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  in  Brooklyn  more  people  vote 
for  mayor  than  for  governor  or  for  president.  Fifty 
years  ago  such  a  reduction  in  the  number  of  elective 
officers  would  have  greatly  shocked  all  good  Ameri- 
cans. But  in  point  of  fact,  while  in  small  townships 
where  everybody  knows  everybody  popular  control  is 
best  ensured  by  electing  all  public  officers,  it  is  very 
different  in  great  cities  where  it  is  imijossible  that  the 
voters  in  general  should  know  much  about  the  quali- 
fications of  a  long  list  of  candidates.  In  such  cases 
citizens  are  apt  to  vote  blindly  for  names  about  which 
they  know  nothing  except  that  they  occur  on  a  Re- 
publican or  a  Democratic  ticket ;  although,  if  the  ob- 
ject of  a  municipal  election  is  simply  to  secure  an 
upright  and  efficient  municipal  government,  to  elect 
a  city  magistrate  because  he  is  a  Republican  or  a 
Democrat  is  about  as  sensible  as  to  elect  him  because 
he  believes  in  homoeopathy  or  has  a  taste  for  chrysan- 
themums.^     To  vote    for  candidates  whom  one  has 

^  Of  course  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  party  politician,  it 
is  quite  different.  Each  party  has  its  elaborate  "machine  "  for 
electing  state  and  national  officers  ;  and  in  order  to  be  kept  at 
its  maximum  of  efficiency  the  machine  must  be  kept  at  work  on 
all  occasions,  whether  such  occasions  are  properly  concerned 
with  differences  in  party  politics  or  not.  To  the  party  politician 
it  of  course  makes  a  great  difference  whether  a  city  magistrate 
is  a  Republican  or  a  Democrat.  To  him  even  the  political  com- 
plexion of  his  mail-carrier  is  a  matter  of  importance.  But  these 
illustrations  only  show  that  party  politics  may  be  carried  to  ex- 
tremes that  are  inconsistent  with  the  best  interests  of  the  com- 
munity. Once  in  a  while  it  becomes  necessary  to  teach  party 
organizations  to  know  their  place,  and  to  remind  them  that  they 
are  not  the  lords  and  masters  but  the  servants  and  instruments 
of  the  people. 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  133 

never  heard  of  is  not  to  insure  popnlar  control,  but 
to  endanger  it.  It  is  much  Letter  to  vote  for  one 
man  whose  rejjutation  we  know,  and  then  to  hokl 
him  strictly  responsible  for  the  appointments  he 
makes.  The  Brooklyn  system  seems  to  be  a  step  to- 
ward lifting  city  government  out  of  the  mire  of  party 
politics. 

This  system  went  into  operation  in  Brooklyn  in 
January,  1882,  and  seems  to  have  given  general  satis- 
faction. Since  then  changes  in  a  similar  direction, 
though  with  variations  in  detail,  have  been  made  in 
other  cities,  and  notably  in  Philadelj^hia. 

In  speaking  of  the  difficulties  which  beset  city  gov- 
emiment  in  the  United  States,  mention  is  often  (and 
perhaps  too  exclusively)  made  of  the  great  mass  of 
ignorant  voters,  chiefly  foreigners  without  experience 
in  self-government,  with  no  comprehension  of  Ameri- 
can principles  and  traditions,  and  with  little  Notion  that 
or  no  property  to  suffer  from  excessive  taxa-  "ught  tolbe 
tion.  Such  people  will  naturally  have  slight  restricted. 
compunctions  about  voting  away  other  people's  money ; 
indeed,  they  are  apt  to  think  that  "  the  Government " 
has  got  Aladdin's  lamp  hidden  away  somewhere  in  a 
burglar-proof  safe,  and  covdd  do  pretty  much  every- 
thing that  is  wanted,  if  it  only  would.  In  the  hands 
of  demagogues  such  people  may  be  dangerous,  they 
are  supposed  to  be  especially  accessible  to  humbug 
and  bribes,  and  their  votes  have  no  doubt  been  used 
to  sustain  and  perpetuate  most  flagrant  abuses.  We 
often  hear  it  said  that  the  only  way  to  get  good  gov- 
ernment is  to  deprive  such  people  of  their  votes  and 
limit  the  suffrage  to  persons  who  have  some  property 
at  stake.  Such  a  measure  has  been  seriously  recom- 
mended in  New  York,  but  it  is  generally  felt  to  be 
impossible  without  a  revolution. 


134  THE   CITY. 

Perhaps,  after  all,  it  may  not  be  so  desirable  as  it 

seems.     The  ignorant  vote  has  done  a  great  deal  of 

harm,  but  not  all  the  harm.     In  1878  it  was 

ofPennsyi-     reported   by   the    Pennsylvania    Municipal 

vania  Muni-      ^^..  iiii 

cipai  Com-  Commissiou,  "  as  a  remarkable  but  notorious 
fact,  that  the  accumulations  of  debt  in  Phila- 
deljjhia  and  other  cities  of  the  state  have  been  due, 
not  to  a  non-property-holding,  irresponsible  element 
among  the  electors,  but  to  the  desire  for  speculation 
among  the  property-owners  themselves.  Large  tracts 
of  land  outside  the  built-up  portion  of  the  city  have 
been  purchased,  combinations  made  among  men  of 
wealth,  and  councils  besieged  until  they  have  been 
driven  into  making  appropriations  to  open  and  im- 
prove streets  and  avenues,  largely  in  advance  of  the 
real  necessities  of  the  city.  Extraordinary  as  the 
statement  may  seem  at  first,  the  experience  of  the 
past  shows  clearly  that  frequently  property-owners 
need  more  protection  against  themselves  than  against 
the  non-property-holding  class."  ^  This  is  a  statement 
of  profound  significance,  and  should  be  duly  pondered 
by  advocates  of  a  restricted  suffrage. 

It  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that,  while  ignorant 

and  needy  voters,  led  by  unscrupulous  demagogues, 

are  capable  of  doing  much  harm  with  their  votes,  it 

,     is  by  no  means  clear  that  the  evil  would  be 

Dangers  of  a  *^ 

restricted      reuiovcd  bv  dcprivino-  them  of  the  suffrage. 

suffrage.  .  p  .  7 

It  is  very  unsafe  to  have  in  any  community 
a  large  class  of  people  who  feel  that  political  rights 
or  privileges  are  withheld  from  them  by  other  people 
who  are  their  superiors  in  wealth  or  knowledge. 
Such  poor  people  are  apt  to  have  exaggerated  ideas 
of  what  a  vote  can  do ;  very  likely  they  think  it  is  be- 

1  Allinson  and  Penrose,  Philadelphia,  1681-1887  ;  a    History 
of  Municipal  Development,  p.  278. 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  135 

cause  they  do  not  have  votes  that  they  are  poor ;  thus 
they  are  ready  to  entertain  revolutionary  or  anarchical 
ideas,  and  are  likely  to  be  more  dangerous  material 
in  the  hands  of  demagogues  than  if  they  were  allowed 
to  vote.  Universal  suffrage  has  its  evils,  but  it  un- 
doubtedly acts  as  a  safety-valve.  The  only  cure  for 
the  evils  which  come  from  ignorance  and  shiftlessness 
is  the  abolition  of  ignorance  and  shiftlessness ;  and 
this  is  slow  work.  Church  and  school  here  find 
enough  to  keep  them  busy ;  but  the  vote  itself,  even 
if  often  misused,  is  a  powerful  educator ;  and  we  need 
not  regret  that  the  restriction  of  the  suffrage  has  come 
to  be  practically  impossible. 

The  purification  of  our  city  governments  will  never 
be  completed  until  they  are  entirely  divorced  from 
national  party  politics.  The  connection  opens  a  lim- 
itless field  for  "  log-rolling,"  and  rivets  upon  cities 
the  "  spoils  system,"  which  is  always  and  everywhere 
incompatible  with  good  government.  It  is  Baneful 
worthy  of  note  that  the  degradation  of  so  ^x^,^**/ity 
many  English  boroughs  and  cities  during  ^ilon^"'*'' 
the  Tudor  and  Stuart  periods  was  chiefly  p°^*^<=^ 
due  to  the  encroachment  of  national  politics  upon 
municipal  politics.  Because  the  borough  returned 
members  to  the  House  of  Commons,  it  became  worth 
while  for  the  crown  to  intrigue  with  the  municipal 
government,  with  the  idtimate  object  oi  influencing 
parliamentary  elections.  The  melancholy  history  of 
the  consequent  dickering  and  dealing,  jobbery  and 
robbery,  down  to  1835,  when  the  great  Municipal 
Corporations  Act  swept  it  all  away,  may  be  read  with 
profit  by  all  Americans.^  It  was  the  city  of  London 
only,  whose  power  and  independence  had  kept  it  free 

^  See  Parliamentary  Reports,  1835,  "  Municipal  Corporations 
Commission  ;  "  also  Sir  Erskine  May,  Const.  Hist.,  vol.  ii.  chap.  xv. 


136  THE   CITY 

from  complications  with  national  politics,  that  avoided 
the  abuses  elsewhere  prevalent,  so  that  it  was  excepted 
from  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  1835,  and  still  re- 
tains its  ancient  constitution. 

In  the  United  States  the  entanglement  of  municipal 
with  national  politics  has  begun  to  be  regarded  as 
mischievous  and  possibly  dangerous,  and  attempts 
have  in  some  cases  been  made  toward  checking  it  by 
changing  the  days  of  election,  so  that  municipal  offi- 
cers may  not  be  chosen  at  the  same  time  with  presi- 
dential electors.  Such  a  change  is  desirable,  but  to 
obtain  a  thoroughly  satisfactory  result,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  destroy  the  "  spoils  system "  root  and 
branch,  and  to  adopt  effective  measures  of  ballot  re- 
form. To  these  topics  I  shall  recur  when  treating  of 
our  national  government.  But  first  we  shall  have  to 
consider  the  development  of  our  several  states. 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE   TEXT. 

Give  an  account  of  city  government  in  the  United  States, 
under  the  following  heads  :  — 

1.  The  American  city  :  — 
a.  The  mayor. 

h.  The  Iieads  of  departments. 

c.  The  city  council. 

d.  The  judges. 

e.  Appropriation^ 

f.  The  power  of  committees. 

2.  The  practical  workings  of  city  governments  :  — 

a.  The  contrast  they  show  between  theory  and  practice. 
h.  Various  complaints  urged  against  city  governments. 
c.  Their  effect  upon  the  old-time  confidence  in  the  perfection 
of  our  institutions. 

3.  The  growth  of  American  cities  :  — 

a.  The  cities  of  AVashington's  time  and  those  of  to-day. 
h.  The  population  of  cities  in  1790  and  their  population  to- 
day, 
c.  City  growth  since  1840. 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  137 

4.  Some  consequences  of  rapid  city  growth  :  — 

a.  The  pressure  to  construct  public  works. 

b.  The  incurring  of  heavy  debts. 

c.  The  wastefulness  due  to  a  lack  of  foresight. 

d.  The  increase  in  government  due  to  the  complexity  of  a 

city. 

e.  An  illustration  of  this  complexity  in  Boston. 

f.  The  consequent  mystery  that  enshrouds  much  of  city  gov- 

ernment. 

5.  Some  evils  due  to  the  fear  of  a  "  one-man  "  power  :  — 
a.  The  objection  to  such  power  a  century  ago. 

h.  Restrictions  imposed  upon  the  mayor's  power. 

c.  The  division  and  weakening  of  responsibility. 

d.  The  lack  of  unity  in  the  administration  of  business. 

e.  The  inefficiency  of  committees  for  executive  purposes. 

f.  The  alarming  increase  in  city  debts. 

6.  Attempts  to  remedy  some  of  the  evils  of  city  government  :  — 

a.  The  power  of  veto  granted  to  the  mayor. 

b.  The  limitation  of  city  indebtedness. 

c.  State  control  of  some  city  departments. 

7.  Difficulties  inherent  in  state  control  of  cities  :  — 

a.  Lack  of  familiarity  with  city  aifairs. 

b.  The  tendency  to  "  log-rolling." 

c.  Lack  of  time  due  to  the  pressure  of  state  affairs. 

d.  The  failure  of  state  control  as  shown  in  the  rule  of  the 

Tweed  ring. 

8.  The  government  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn  :  — 

a.  The  elevation  of  the  "  one-man  "    power  above  that   of 

the  "ring." 
h.  Officers  elected  by  the  people. 

c.  Officers  appointed  by  the  mayor. 

d.  The  principle  of  well-defined  responsibility. 

e.  The  appointment  of  certain  boards  by  the  mayor. 

f.  The  holding  of  the  purse-strings. 

g.  The  inadequacy  of  the  township  elective  system  in  a  city 

like  Brooklyn. 

9.  llestriction  of  the  suffrage  :  — 

a.  The  dangers  from  large  masses  of  ignorant  voters. 

b.  The  responsibility  for  the  debt  of  Philadelphia  and  other 

cities. 

c.  The  dangers  from  large  classes  who  feel  that  political 

rights  are  denied  them. 

d.  Suffrage  as  a  "  safety-valve." 


138  THE   CITY. 

lo.  The  mixture  of  city  politics  with  those  of  the  state  or  nation  :  — 
a.  The  degradation  of  the  English  borough. 
h.  The  exemption  of  London  from  the  Municipal  Corporations 
Act. 

c.  The  importance  of  separate  days  for  municipal  elections. 

d.  The  importance  of  abolishing  the  "  spoils  system." 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS   AND   DIRECTIONS. 

(Chiefly  for  pupils  who  live  in  cities.) 

1 .  When  was  your  city  organized  ? 

2.  Give  some  account  of  its  growth,  its  size,  and  its  present 

population.     How  many  wards  has  it  ?     Give  their  boun- 
daries.    In  which  ward  do  you  live  ? 

3.  Examine  its  charter,  and  report  a  few  of  its  leading  provi- 

sions. 

4.  What  description  of  government  in  this  chapter  comes  nearest 

to  that  of  your  city  ? 

5.  Consider  the  suggestions  about  the  study  of  town  government 

(pp.  43,  44),  and  act  upon  such  of  them  as  are  applica- 
ble to  city  government. 

6.  What  is  the  general  impression  about  the  purity  of  your  city 

government  ?     (Consult  several  citizens  and  report  what 
you  find  out.) 

7.  What   important  caution  should  be  observed  about  vague 

rumours  of  inefficiency  or  corruption  ? 

8.  What  are  the  evidences  of  a  sound  financial  condition  in  a 

city  ? 

9.  Is  the  financial  condition  of  your  city  sound  ? 

10.  When  debts  are  incurred,  are  provisions  made  at  the  same 

time  for  meeting  them  when  due  ? 

1 1 .  What  are  "  sinking  funds  "  ? 

1 2.  What  wants  has  a  city  that  a  town  is  free  from  ? 

13.  Describe  your  system  of  public   water  works,   making   an 

analysis  of  important  points  that  may  be  presented. 

14.  Do  the  same  for  your  park  system  or  any  other  system  that 

involves  a  long  time  for  its  completion  as  well  as  a  great 
outlay. 

15.  Are  the  principles  of  civil  service  reform  recognized  in  your 

city  ?     If  so,  to  what  extent  ?     Do  they  need  to  be  ex- 
tended further  ? 

16.  Describe  the  parties  that  contejided  for  the  supremacy  in 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  139 

your  last  city  election  and  tell  what  questions  were  at  is- 
sue between  them. 

17.  What  great  corpoi'ations  exert  an  influence  in  your  city  af- 

fairs ?  Is  such  influence  bad  because  it  is  great  ?  What 
is  a  possible  danger  from  such  influence  ? 

18.  In  view  of  the  vast  number  and  range  of  city  interests,  what 

is  the  most  that  the  average  citizen  can  reasonably  be 
asked  to  know  and  to  do  about  them  ?  What  things  is 
it  indispensable  for  him  to  know  and  to  do  if  he  is  to  con- 
tribute to  good  government  ? 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE. 


§  1.  Direct  and  Indirect  Government.  —  The  transition 
from  direct  to  indirect  government,  as  illustrated  in  the  gradual 
development  of  a  township  into  a  city,  may  be  profitably  studied 
in  Quincy's  Municipal  Hixtory  of  Boston,  Boston,  1852  ;  and  in 
Winsor's  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  vol.  iii.  pp.  189-302,  Bos- 
ton, 1881. 

§  2.  Origin  of  English  Boroughs  and  Cities.  —  See 
Loftie's  History  of  London,  2  vols.,  London,  1883  ;  Toulmin 
Smith's  English  Gilds,  with  Introduction  by  Lujo  Brentano,  Lon- 
don, 1870  ;  and  the  histories  of  the  English  Constitution,  espe- 
cially those  of  Gueist,  Stubbs,  Taswell-Langmead,  and  Hannis 
Taylor. 

§  3.  Government  of  Cities  in  the  United  States.  — 
J.  H.  U.  Studies,  III.,  xi.-xii.,  J.  A.  Porter,  The  City  of  Wash- 
ington ;  IV.,  iv.,  W.  P.  Holcomb,  Pennsylvania  Boroughs  ;  IV.,  x., 
C.  H.  Levermore,  Town  and  City  Government  of  Neiv  Haven; 
v.,  i.-ii.,  Allinson  and  Penrose,  City  Government  of  Philadelphia  j 
v.,  iii.,  J.  M.  Bugbee,  The  City  Government  of  Boston  ;  V.,  iv., 
M.  S.  Snow,  The  City  Government  of  St.  Louis  ;  VII.,  ii.-iii.,  B. 
Moses,  Establishment  of  Municipal  Government  in  San  Francisco  ; 
VII.,  iv.,  W.  W.  Howe,  Municipal  History  of  New  Orleans  ;  also 
Supplementary  Notes,  No.  4,  Seth  Low,  The  Problem  of  City  Gov- 
ernment (compare  No.  1,  Albert  Sliaw,  Municipal  Government  in 
England).  See,  also,  the  supplementary  volumes  published  at 
Baltimore,  —  Levermore's  Republic  of  Nev;  Haven,  1886,  Allin- 
son and  Penrose's  Philadelphia,  1681-1887  :  a  History  of  Muni- 
cipal Development,  1887. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   STATE. 

§  1.  The  Colonial  Governments. 

In  tlie  year  1600  Spain  was  tlie  only  European  na- 
tion which  had  obtained  a  foothold  upon  the  j)art  of 
North  America  now  comprised  within  the 
Spain  to  the    United    Statcs.      Spain    claimed   the  whole 

possession  . 

of  North  continent  on  the  strength  of  the  bulls  of 
1493  and  1494,  in  which  Pope  Alexander 
VI.  granted  her  all  countries  to  be  discovered  to  the 
west  of  a  certain  meridian  which  happens  to  pass  a 
little  to  the  east  of  Newfoundland.  From  their  first 
centre  in  the  West  Indies  the  Spaniards  had  made  a 
lodgment  in  Florida,  at  St.  Augustine,  in  1565  ;  and 
from  Mexico  they  had  in  1580  founded  Santa  Fe,  in 
what  is  now  the  territory  of  New  Mexico. 

France  and  England,  however,  paid  little  heed  to  the 
claim  of  Spain.    France  had  her  own  claim  to 

Claims  o^  -.  Y        1  • 

France  and     Nortli  Ameiica,  bascd  on  the  voyages  of  dis- 

England.  . 

covery  made  by  Verrazano  in  1524  and  Car- 
tier  in  1534,  in  the  course  of  which  New  York  harbour 
had  been  visited  and  the  St.  Lawrence  partly  explored. 
England  had  a  still  earlier  claim,  based  on  the  dis- 
covery of  the  North  American  continent  in  1497  by 
John  Cabot.  It  presently  became  apparent  that  to 
make  such  claims  of  any  value,  discovery  must  be 
followed  up  by  occupation  of  the  country.     Attempts 


THE   COLONIAL   GOVERNMENTS.  141 

at  colonization  had  been  made  by  Frencli  Protestants 
in  Florida  in  1562-65,  and  by  the  English  in  North 
Carolina  in  1584-87,  but  both  attempts  had  failed 
miserably.  Throughout  the  sixteenth  century  Frencli 
and  English  sailors  kept  visiting  the  Newfoundland 
fisheries,  and  by  the  end  of  the  century  the  French  and 
English  governments  had  their  attention  definitely 
turned  to  the  founding  of  colonies  in  North  America. 
In  1606  two  great  joint-stock  companies  were 
formed  in  England  for  the  purpose  of  planting  such 
colonies.  One  of  these  companies  had  its  head- 
quarters at  London,  and  was  called  the  Lon-  ^he  London 
don  Company ;  the  other  had  its  headquar-  outii^com- 
ters  at  the  seaport  of  Plymouth,  in  Devon-  p'*'^'<^»- 
shire,  and  was  called  the  Plymouth  Company.  To 
the  London  Company  the  king  granted  the  coast  of 
North  America  from  34°  to  38°  north  latitude  ;  that 
is,  about  from  Cape  Fear  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock. To  the  Plymouth  Company  he  granted 
the  coast  from  41°  to  45°  ;  that  is,  about  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Hudson  to  the  eastern  extremity  of 
Maine.  These  grants  were  to  go  in  straight  strips  or 
zones  across  the  continent  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to 
the  Pacific.  Almost  nothing  was  then  known  about 
American  geography;  the  distance  from  ocean  to 
ocean  across  Mexico  was  not  so  very  great,  and  peo- 
ple did  not  realize  that  further  north  it  was  quite  a 
different  thing.  As  to  the  middle  strip,  starting  from 
the  coast  between  the  Rappahannock  and  the  Hudson, 
it  was  open  to  the  two  companies,  with  the  undei-- 
standing  that  neither  was  to  plant  a  colony  within 
100  miles  of  any  settlement  already  begun  by  the 
other.  This  meant  practically  that  it  was  likely  to 
be  controlled  by  whichever  company  should  first  come 
into  the  field  with  a  flourishing  colony.     Accordingly 


142  THE   STATE. 

both  companies  made  haste  and  sent  out  settlers  in 
1607,  the  one  to  the  James  River,  the  other  to  the 
Kennebec.  The  first  enterprise,  after  much  suffering, 
resulted  in  the  founding  of  Virginia  ;  the  second  ended 
in  disaster,  and  it  was  not  until  1620  that  the  Pil- 
grims fi'om  Leyden  made  the  beginnings  of  a  per- 
manent settlement  upon  the  territory  of  the  Plymouth 
Company. 

These  two  companies  were  at  first  organized  under 

a   single   charter.      Each  was  to  be  governed  by  a 

council  in  England  appointed  by  the  king,  and  these 

councils  were  to  appoint  councils  of  thirteen  to  reside 

in  the  colonies,  with  powers  practically  un- 

Theircom-       ,.      .       ,         t,t  i     i  i         i   • 

monchar-      limited.     JNeverthelcss  the  kino-  covenanted 

ter. 

with  his  colonists  as  follows :  "  Also  we  do, 
for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  declare  by  these 
presents  that  all  and  every  the  persons,  being  our 
subjects,  which  shall  go  and  inhabit  within  the  said 
colony  and  plantation,  and  every  their  chikh'en  and 
posterity,  which  shall  happen  to  be  born  within  any 
of  the  limits  thereof,  shall  have  and  enjoy  all  liber- 
ties, franchises,  and  immunities  of  free  denizens  and 
natural  subjects  within  any  of  our  other  dominions, 
to  aU  intents  and  purposes  as  if  they  had  been  abid- 
ing and  born  within  this  our  realm  of  England,  or  in 
any  other  of  our  dominions."  This  principle,  that 
British  subjects  born  in  America  should  be  entitled 
to  the  same  political  freedom  as  if  born  in  England, 
was  one  upon  which  the  colonists  always  insisted,  and 
it  was  the  repeated  and  persistent  attempts  of  George 
III.  to  infringe  it  that  led  the  American  colonies  to 
revolt  and  declare  themselves  independent  of  Great 
Britain. 

Both  the  companies  founded  in  1606  were  short- 
lived.    In   1620   the  Plymouth  Company  got  a  new 


THE   COLONIAL    GOVERNMENTS.  143 

charter,  wliich  made  it  iiicTependent  of  the  London 
Company.  In  1624  the  king,  James  I.,  quarrelled 
with    the    London    Company,  brouoht    suit 

,       ,        .        1     J.  Dissolution 

aojamst  it  m   court,  and  obtained  from  the   of  the  two 

,  .  .      -,  -.  ,,.  .  compauies. 

subservient  judges  a  decree  annulling  its 
charter.  In  1635  the  reorganized  Plymouth  Com- 
pany surrendered  its  charter  to  Charles  I.  in  pursu- 
ance of  a  bargain  which  need  not  here  concern  us.^ 
But  the  creation  of  these  short-lived  companies  left  an 
abiding  impression  upon  the  map  of  North  America 
and  upon  the  organization  of  civil  government  in  the 
United    States.     Let   us  observe  what  was 

,  ,  1   •    1       Settlement 

done  with  the  three  strips  or  zones  into  which  of  tiie  tiiree 

T     •  1     1  1  1  zones. 

the  country  was  divided  :   the  northern    or 
New  England  zone,  assigned  to  the   Plymouth  Com- 
pany ;  the  southern  or  Virginia  zone,  assigned  to  the 
London  Company  ;  and  the   central  zone,   for  which 
the  two  companies  were,  so  to  speak,  to  run  a  race. 

In  the  northern  zone  the  colonies  of  Plymouth  and 
Massachusetts  Bay  were  founded  by  emigration  from 
England  between  1620  and  1630 ;  and  then  in  1633- 
38  Connecticut,  Providence,  and  Rhode  Island  were 
founded  by  emigration  from  Massachusetts. 

1.  The 

Presently,  in  1643,  Providence  and  Rhode  northern 
Island  voluntarily  united  into  one  common- 
wealth ;  and  in  1662  New  Haven,  originally  founded  in 
1637  by  emigration  from  England,  was  annexed  to 
Connecticut  by  Charles  II.  Certain  towns  along  the 
northeast  coast,  founded  under  royal  grants  to  individ- 
ual proprietors,  were  for  some  time  practically  a  part 
of  Massachusetts,  but  in  1679  a  part  of  this  region 
was  erected  by  Charles  II.  into  the  royal  province  of 
New  Hampshire.  The  remainder,  under  the  name  of 
Maine,  was  in  1692  confirmed  to  Massachusetts,  to 
1  See  my  Beginnings  of  New  England,  p.  112. 


144  THE  STATE. 

which  Plymouth  was  at  the  same  time  annexed.  Thus, 
before  the  Revolution,  four  of  the  original  thirteen 
states  —  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island, 
and  New  Hampshire  —  had  been  constituted  in  the 
northern  zone. 

In   1663  Charles  II.  cut  off  the  southern  part  of 

Virginia,  the  area  covering  the  present  states  of  North 

and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  it  was  formed 

into    a  new   province   called  Carolina.      In 

2.  Tlie 

southern        1729  the  two  groups  of  settlements  which 

zoue.  ,       ^  ,  .  1     r>     • 

had  grown  up  along  its  coast  were  dehni- 
tively  separated  into  North  and  South  Carolina  ;  and  in 
1732  the  frontier  portion  toward  Florida  was  organ- 
ized into  the  colony  of  Georgia.  Thus  four  of  the 
original  thirteen  states  —  Virginia,  the  two  Carolinas, 
and  Georgia  —  were  constituted  in  the  southern  zone. 

To  this  group  some  writers  add  Maryland,  founded 
in  1632,  because  its  territory  had  been  claimed  by  the 
London  Company ;  but  the  earliest  settlements  in 
Maryland,  its  principal  towns,  and  almost  the  whole 
of  its  territory,  come  north  of  latitude  38°  and  within 
the  middle  zone. 

Between  the  years  1614  and  1631  the  Dutch  founded 
their  colony  of  New  Netherland  upon  the  territory  in- 
cluded between  the  Hudson   and  Delaware  rivers,  or, 

3.  The  mid-  ^^  ^^^^y  quitc  naturally  called  them,  the  North 
die  zone.  ^^^  Soutli  rivcrs.  They  pushed  their  out- 
posts up  the  Hudson  as  far  as  the  site  of  Albany, 
thus  intruding  far  into  the  northern  zone.  In  1638 
Sweden  planted  a  small  colony  upon  the  west  side  of 
Delaware  Bay,  but  in  1655  it  was  surrendered  to  the 
Dutch.  Then  in  1664  the  English  took  New  Nether- 
land from  the  Dutch,  and  Charles  II.  granted  the 
province  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  York.  The  duke 
proceeded  to  grant  part  of  it  to  his  friends,  Berkeley 


THE   COLONIAL    GOVERNMENTS.  145 

and  Carteret^  and  thus  marked  off  the  new  colony  of 
New  Jersey.  In  1681  the  region  west  of  New  Jersey 
was  granted  to  William  Penn,  and  in  the  following 
year  Penn  bought  from  the  Duke  of  York  the  small 
piece  of  territory  upon  which  the  Swedes  had  planted 
their  colony.  Delaware  thus  became  an  aj)pendage 
to  Penn's  greater  colony,  but  was  never  merged  in  it. 
Thus  five  of  the  original  thirteen  states  —  Maryland, 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Delaware 
—  were  constituted  in  the  middle  zone. 

As  we  have  already  observed,  the  westward  move- 
ment of  population  in  the  United  States  has  largely 
followed  the  parallels  of  latitude,  and  thus  the  charac- 
teristics of  these  three  original  strips  or  zones  have, 
with  more  or  less  modification,  extended  westward. 
The  men  of  New  England,  with  their  Portland  and 
Salem  reproduced  more  than  3000  miles  distant  in  the 
state  of  Oregon,  and  within  100  miles  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  may  be  said  in  a  certain  sense  to  have  realized 
literally  the  substance  of  King  James's  grant  to  the 
Plymouth  Company,  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  kinds 
of  local  government  described  in  our  earlier  chapters 
are  characteristic  respectively  of  the  three  original 
zones :  the  township  system  being  exemplified  chiefly 
in  the  northern  zone,  the  county  system  in  the  south- 
ern zone,  and  the  mixed  township-coimty  system  in 
the  central  zone. 

The  London  and  Plymouth  companies  did  not  perish 
until  after  state  governments  had  been  organized  in 
the  colonies  ali'eady  founded  upon  their  territories. 
In  1619  the  colonists  of  Virginia,  with  the  aid  of  the 
more  liberal  spirits  in  the  London  Company, 

,        -.  ,  ^      .  House  of 

secured     for    themselves    a    representative   Burgesses  iu 

mi  11*  Virginia. 

government.     To  the  governor  and  his  coun- 
cil, appointed  in  England,  there  was  added  a  general 


146  THE  STATE. 

assembly  composed  of  two  bur<^esses  from  each  "  plan- 
tation," ^  elected  by  the  inhabitants.  This  assembly, 
the  first  legislative  body  that  ever  sat  in  America,  met 
on  the  30th  of  July,  1619,  in  the  choir  of  the  rude 
church  at  Jamestown.  The  dignity  of  the  burgesses 
was  preserved,  as  in  the  House  of  Commons,  by  sit- 
ting with  their  hats  on  ;  and  after  offering  prayer, 
and  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  supremacy,  they 
proceeded  to  enact  a  number  of  laws  relating  to  pub- 
lic worship,  to  agriculture,  and  to  intercourse  with  the 
Indians.  Curiously  enough,  so  confident  was  the  be- 
lief of  the  settlers  that  they  were  founding  towns,  that 
they  called  their  representatives  "burgesses,"  and  down 
to  1776  the  assembly  continued  to  be  known  as  the 
House  of  "  Burgesses,"  although  towns  refused  to  grow 
in  Virginia,  and  soon  after  counties  were  organized  in 
1634  the  burgesses  sat  for  counties.  Such  were  the 
beginnings  of  representative  government  in  Virginia. 
The  government  of  Massachusetts  is  descended  from 
the  Dorchester  Company  formed  in  England  in  1623, 
for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  trading  in  f ure  and  timber 
and  catching  fish  on  the  shores  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 
After  a  disastrous  beginning  this  company  was  dis- 
solved, but  only  to  be  immediately  reorganized  on  a 
greater  scale.    In  1628  a  grant  of  the  land  between  the 

Charles  and  Merrimack  rivers  was  obtained 
Massachu-      from  tlic  Plymoutli  Company  ;  and  in  1629  a 

charter  was  obtained  from  Charles  I.     So 
many  men  from  the  east  of  England  had  joined  in  the 

^  The  word  "  plantation  "  is  here  used,  not  in  its  Liter  and 
ordinary  sense,  as  the  estate  belonging  to  an  individual  planter, 
but  in  an  earlier  sense.  In  this  early  usage  it  was  equivalent  to 
"  settlement."  It  was  nsed  in  New  England  as  well  as  in  Vir- 
ginia ;  thus  Salem  was  spoken  of  by  the  court  of  assistants  iu 
1G29  as  "  New  England's  Plantation." 


THE   COLONIAL   GOVERNMENTS.  147 

enterprise  that  it  could  no  longer  be  fitly  called  a  Dor- 
chester Company.  The  new  name  was  significantly 
taken  from  the  New  World.  The  charter  created  a  cor- 
poration under  the  style  of  the  Governor  and  Company 
of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England.  The  freemen 
of  the  Company  were  to  hold  a  meeting  four  times  a 
year ;  and  they  were  empowered  to  choose  a  governor, 
a  deputy  governor,  and  a  council  of  eighteen  assistants, 
who  were  to  hold  their  meetings  each  month.  They 
could  administer  oaths  of  supremacy  and  allegiance, 
raise  troops  for  the  defence  of  their  possessions,  admit 
new  associates  into  the  Company,  and  make  regulations 
for  the  management  of  their  business,  with  the  vague 
and  weak  proviso  that  in  order  to  be  valid  their  enact- 
ment must  in  no  wise  contravene  the  laws  of  England. 
Nothing  was  said  as  to  the  place  where  the  Company 
should  hold  its  meetings,  and  accordingly  after  a  few 
months  the  Company  transferred  itself  and  its  charter 
to  New  England,  in  order  that  it  might  carry  out  its 
intentions  with  as  little  interference  as  possible  on  the 
part  of  the  crown. 

Whether  this  transfer  of  the  charter  was  legally 
justifiable  or  not  is  a  question  which  has  been  much 
debated,  but  with  which  we  need  not  here  vex  our- 
selves. The  lawyers  of  the  Company  were  shrewd 
enough  to  know  that  a  loosely-drawn  instrument  may 
be  made  to  admit  of  great  liberty  of  action.  Under 
the  guise  of  a  mere  trading  corporation  the  Puritan 
leaders  deliberately  intended  to  found  a  civil  com- 
monwealth in  accordance  with  their  own  theories  of 
government. 

After  their  arrival  in  Massachusetts,  their  numbers 
increased  so  rapidly  that  it  became  impossible  to  have 
a  primary  assembly  of  all  the  freemen,  and  so  a  rep- 
resentative assembly  was  devised  after  the  model  of 


148  THE  STATE. 

the  Old  English  county  court.      The  representatives 

sat   for   townships,    and    were    called   deputies.       At 

first  they  sat  in  the  same  chamber  with  the 

Governraeut  .  •       i  n  a  t        ^         I'l- 

of  Massa-       assistauts,  Dut  lu  1544  the  legislative  body 

chusetts;  the  ,..,,.  ,  , 

General  was  dividcd  iiito  two  Chambers,  the  depu- 
ties forming  the  lower  house,  while  the  upper 
was  composed  of  the  assistants,  who  were  some- 
times called  magistrates.  In  elections  the  candidates 
for  the  upper  house  were  put  in  nomination  by  the 
General  Court  and  voted  on  by  the  freemen.  In  gen- 
eral the  assistants  represented  .the  common  or  central 
power  of  the  colony,  while  the  deputies  represented 
the  interests  of  popular  self-government.  The  former 
was  comparatively  an  aristocratic  and  the  latter  a 
democratic  body,  and  there  were  frequent  disputes 
between  the  two. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  governing  body  thus 
constituted  was  at  once  a  legislative  and  a  judicial 
body,  like  the  English  county  court  which  served  as 
its  model.  Inferior  courts  were  organized  at  an  early 
date  in  Massachusetts,  but  the  highest  judicial  tribu- 
nal was  the  legislature,  which  was  known  as  the  Gen- 
eral Court.  It  still  bears  this  name  to-day,  though  it 
long  ago  ceased  to  exercise  judicial  functions. 

Now  as  the  freemen  of  Massachusetts  directly  chose 
their  governor  and  deputy-governor,  as  well  as  their 
chamber  of  deputies,  and  also  took  part  in  choosing 
their  council  of  assistants,  their  government  was  vir- 
tually that  of  an  independent  republic.  The  crown 
could  interpose  no  effective  check  upon  its  proceed- 
ings except  by  threatening  to  annul  its  charter  and 
send  over  a  viceroy  who  might  be  backed  up,  if  need 
be,  by  military  force.  Such  threats  were  sometimes 
openly  made,  but  oftener  hinted  at.  They  served  to 
make   the  Massachusetts  government  somewhat  wary 


THE   COLONIAL   GOVERNMENTS.  149 

and  circumspect,  but  they  did  not  prevent  it  from 
pursuing  a  very  independent  policy  in  many  respects, 
as  wlien,  for  example,  it  persisted  in  allowing-  none 
but  members  of  the  Congregational  church  to  vote. 
This  measure,  by  which  it  was  intended  to  preserve  the 
Puritan  policy  unchanged,  was  extremely  distasteful 
to  the  British  government.  At  length  in  1684  the 
Massachusetts  charter  was  annulled,  an  attempt  was 
made  to  suppress  town-meetings,  and  the  colony  was 
placed  under  a  military  viceroy.  Sir  Edmund  Andros. 
After  a  brief  period  of  despotic  rule,  the  Revolution 
in  England  worked  a  change.     In  1692  Mas- 

■,  .        ,  ,  .  T  f.      I^sw  charter 

sachusetts  received  a  new  charter,  quite  dif-  ot  Massa- 

chusetts. 

ferent  from  the  old  one.  The  people  were 
allowed  to  elect  representatives  to  the  General  Court, 
as  before,  but  the  governor  and  lieutenant-governor 
were  appointed  by  the  crown,  and  all  acts  of  the  legis- 
lature were  to  be  sent  to  England  for  royal  approval. 
The  general  government  of  Massachusetts  was  thus, 
except  for  its  possession  of  a  charter,  made  similar 
to  that  of  Virginia. 

The  governments  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island 
were  constructed  upon  the  same  general  plan  as  the 
first  sovernment   of    Massachusetts.      Gov- 

"  •!  1  1     •  T  Connecticut 

ernors,  councils,  and  assemblies  were  elected  an^  Ri'o<ie 

Island. 

by  the  people.  These  governments  were 
made  by  the  settlers  themselves,  after  they  had  come 
out  from  Massachusetts  ;  and  through  a  very  singular 
combination  of  circumstances,^  they  were  confirmed 
by  charters  granted  by  Charles  II.  in  1662,  soon  after 
his  return  from  exile.  So  thoroughly  republican  were 
these  governments  that  they  remained  without  change 
until  1818  in  Connecticut  and  until  1842  in  Rhode 
Island. 

^  See  my  Beginnings  of  New  England,  pp.  192-196. 


150  THE  STATE. 

We  thus  observe  two  kinds  of  state  government  in 
the  American  colonies.  In  both  kinds  the  people 
choose  a  representative  legislative  assembly  ;  but  in 
the  one  kind  they  also  choose  their  governor,  while  in 
the  other  kind  the  governor  is  appointed  by  the  crown. 
We  have  now  to  observe  a  third  kind. 

After  the  downfall  of  the  two  great  companies 
founded  in  160G,  the  crown  had  a  way  of 

Countiea  it  .         «    .         , 

palatine  in      handing  ovcr  to  its  friends  extensive  tracts 

Englaud.  5^.  .  ,  _         ^/->oi 

of  land  in  America.  in  looz  a  charter 
granted  by  Charles  I.  to  Cecilius  Calvert,  Lord  Balti- 
more, founded  the  palatinate  colony  of  Maryland.  To 
understand  the  nature  of  this  charter,  we  must  observe 
that  among  the  counties  of  England  there  were  three 
whose  rulers  from  an  early  time  were  allowed  sj)ecial 
privileges.  Because  Cheshire  and  Durham  bordered 
uj)on  the  hostile  countries,  Wales  and  Scotland,  and 
needed  to  be  ever  on  the  alert,  their  rulers,  the  earls 
of  Chester  and  the  bishops  of  Durham,  were  clothed 
with  almost  royal  powers  of  command,  and  similar 
powers  were  afterwards  granted  through  favouritism 
to  the  dukes  of  Lancaster.  The  three  counties  were 
called  counties  palatine  (i.  e.  "  palace  counties "). 
Before  IGOO  the  earldom  of  Chester  and  the  duchy  of 
Lancaster  had  been  absorbed  by  the  crown,  but  the 
bishopric  of  Durham  remained  the  type  of  an  almost 
independent  state,  and  the  colony  palatine  of  Mary- 
ciiarter  of  ^^^^  was  modelled  after  it.  The  charter  of 
Maryland.  Maryland  conferred  upon  Lord  Baltimore 
the  most  extensive  privileges  ever  bestowed  by  the 
British  crown  upon  any  subject.  He  "  was  made 
absolute  lord  of  the  land  and  water  within  his  bound- 
aries, could  erect  towns,  cities,  and  ports,  make  war 
or  peace,  call  the  whole  fighting  population  to  arms 
and  declare  martial  law,  levy  tolls  and  duties,  estab- 


THE   COLONIAL   GOVERNMENTS.  151 

llsh  courts  of  justice,  appoint  judges,  magistrates, 
and  other  civil  officers,  execute  the  laws,  and  pardon 
offenders.  He  could  erect  manors,  with  courts-baron 
and  courts-leet,  and  confer  titles  and  dignities,  so  that 
they  differed  from  those  of  England.  He  could  make 
laws  with  the  assent  of  the  freemen  of  the  province, 
and,  in  cases  of  emergency,  ordinances  not  impairing 
life,  limb,  or  property,  without  their  assent.  He  could 
found  churches  and  chapels,  have  them  consecrated 
according  to  the  ecclesiastical  laws  of  England,  and 
appoint  the  incumbents."  ^  For  his  territory  and 
these  royal  powers  Lord  Baltimore  was  to  send  over 
to  the  palace  at  Windsor  a  tribute  of  two  Indian 
arrows  yearl}"^,  and  to  reserve  for  the  king  one  fifth 
part  of  such  gold  and  silver  as  he  might  happen  to 
get  by  mining.  *'  The  king  furthermore  boimd  him- 
self and  his  successors  to  lay  no  taxes,  customs,  sub- 
sidies, or  contributions  whatever  upon  the  people  of 
the  province,  and  in  case  of  any  such  demand  being 
made,  the  charter  expressly  declared  that  this  clause 
might  be  pleaded  as  a  discharge  in  full."  Maryland 
was  thus  almost  an  independent  state.  Baltimore's 
title  was  Lord  Proprietary  of  Maryland,  and  his  title 
and  powers  were  made  hereditary  in  his  family,  so 
that  he  was  virtually  a  feudal  king.  His  rule,  how- 
ever, was  effectually  limited.  The  government  of 
Maryland  was  carried  on  by  a  governor  and  a  two- 
chambered  legislature.  The  governor  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  upper  house  of  the  legislature  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  lord  proprietary,  but  the  lower  house 
of  the  legislature  was  elected,  here  as  elsewhere,  by 
the  people ;  and  in  accordance  with  time-honoured 
English  custom  all  taxation  must  originate  in  the 
lower  house,  which  represented  the  people. 

*  Browne's  Maryland  :  the  History  of  a  Palatinate,  p.  19. 


152  THE  STATE. 

Half  a  century  after  the  founding  of   Maryland, 

similar  though  somewhat   less    extensive  proprietary 

powers  were  ^ranted  by  Charles  II.  to  Wil- 

Charterof        j.  -r,  i  i  i  i  i  c 

Pennsyi-  liam  x^euu,  and  under  them  the  colony  oi 
Pennsylvania  was  founded  and  Delaware 
was  purchased.  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  had  each 
its  house  of  rejiresentatives  elected  by  the  people ; 
but  there  was  only  one  governor  and  covmcil  for  the 
two  colonies.  The  governor  and  council  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  lord  proprietary,  and  as  the  council 
confined  itself  to  advising  the  governor  and  did  not 
take  part  in  legislation,  there  was  no  upper  house. 
The  legislature  was  one-chambered.  The  office  of 
lord  proprietary  was  hereditary  in  the  Penn  family. 
For  about  eighty  years  the  Penns  and  Calverts 
quarrelled,  like  true  sovereigns,  about  the  boundary- 
line  between  their  principalities,  until  in  1763  the 
matter  was  finally  settled.  A  line  was  agreed  upon, 
Mason  and  ^^^  *^®  survcy  was  made  by  two  distin- 
Dixon'siiue.  g^igjied  mathematicians,  Charles  Mason  and 
Jeremiah  Dixon.  The  line  ran  westward  244  miles 
from  the  Delaware  River,  and  every  fifth  milestone 
was  engraved  with  the  arms  of  Penn  on  the  one  side 
and  those  of  Calvert  on  the  other.  In  later  times, 
after  all  the  states  north  of  Maryland  had  abolished 
slavery,  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  became  famous  as 
the  boundary  between  slave  states  and  free  states. 

At  first  there  were  other  proprietary  colonies  be- 
sides those  just  mentioned,  but  in  course  of  time  the 
rights  or  powers  of  their  lords  proprietary 

other  pro-  *  i     i  i  iV,  -^r 

prietarygov-  wcrc  rcsumcd  oy  the  crown.  Vv  lien  JNew 
Netherland  was  conquered  from  the  Dutch 
it  was  granted  to  the  duke  of  York  as  lord  proprie- 
tary ;  but  after  one-and-twenty  years  the  duke  as- 
cended the  throne  as  James  II.,  and  so  the  part  of 


THE   COLONIAL    GOVERNMENTS.  153 

the  colony  which  he  had  kept  became  the  royal  prov- 
ince of  New  York.  The  part  which  he  had  sold  to 
Berkeley  and  Carteret  remained  for  a  while  the  pro- 
prietary colony  of  New  Jersey,  sometimes  under  one 
government,  sometimes  divided  between  two  ;  but  the 
rule  of  the  lords  proprietary  was  very  unpoj)ular,  and 
in  1702  their  rights  were  surrendered  to  the  crown. 
The  Carolinas  and  Georgia  were  also  at  first  pro23rie- 
tary  colonies,  but  after  a  while  they  willingly  came 
under  the  direct  sway  of  the  crown.  In  general  the 
projirietary  governments  were  unpopular  because  the 
lords  proprietary,  who  usually  lived  in  England  and 
visited  their. colonies  but  seldom,  were  apt  to  regard 
their  colonies  simply  as  sources  of  personal  income. 
This  was  not  the  case  with  William  Penn,  or  the 
earlier  Calverts,  or  with  James  Oglethorpe,  the  illus- 
trious founder  of  Georgia ;  but  it  was  too  often  the 
case.  So  long  as  the  lord's  rents,  fees,  and  other 
emoluments  were  duly  collected,  he  troubled  himself 
very  little  as  to  what  went  on  in  the  colony.  If  that 
had  been  all,  the  colony  would  have  troubled  itself 
very  little  about  him.  But  the  governor  appointed 
by  this  absentee  master  was  liable  to  be  more  devoted 
to  his  interests  than  to  those  of  the  people,  and  the 
civil  service  was  seriously  damaged  by  worthless 
favourites  sent  over  from  England  for  whom  the  gov- 
ernor was  expected  to  find  some  ojffice  that  would  pay 
them  a  salary.  On  the  whole,  it  seemed  less  unsatis- 
factory to  have  the  governors  appointed  by  the  crown  ; 
and  so  before  the  Revolutionary  War  all  the  pro- 
prietary governments  had  fallen,  except  those  of  the 
Penns  and  the  Calverts,  which  doubtless  survived  be- 
cause they  were  the  best  organized  and  best  admin- 
istered. 

There  were  thus  at  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary 


154  THE  STATE. 

War  three  forms  of  state  government  in  the  Ameri- 
can colonies.    There  were,^rs^,  the  Republi- 
of  the  Revo-  can  colonics,  in  which  the  governors  were 

lution  there  ,  *-' 

were  three     elected  bv  the  people,  as  in  Rhode  Island  and 

forms  of  J  L        L       ^ 

colonial  gov-   Connecticut ;  secondly,  the  Proprietary  colo- 

erument :   1.         .  ,  ,  "^  ^  •■'  ^ 

Republican,  nics,  in  wliich  the  governors  were  appointed 
tary,  3.  by  hereditary  proprietors,  as  in  Maryland, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Delaware  ;  thirdly .^  the 
Royal  colonies,^  in  wliich  the  governors  were  appointed 
by  the  crown,  as  in  Georgia,  the  two  Carolinas,  Vir- 
ginia, New  Jersey,  New  York,  Massachusetts,  and  New 
Hampshire.  It  is  customary  to  distinguish  the  Repub- 
lican colonies  as  Charter  colonies,  but  that  is  not  an 
accurate  distinction,  inasmuch  as  the  Proprietary  colo- 
nies also  had  charters.  And  among  the  Royal  colonies, 
Massachusetts,  having  been  originally  a  republic,  still 
had  a  charter  in  which  her  rights  were  so  defined  as  to 
place  her  in  a  somewhat  different  position  from  the 
other  Royal  colonies ;  so  that  Prof.  Alexander  John- 
ston, with  some  reason,  puts  her  in  a  class  by  herself 
as  a  Semi-royal  colony. 

These  differences,  it  will  be  observed,  related  to  the 
character  and  method  of  filling  the  governor's  office. 
In  the  Republican  colonies  the  governor  naturally 
represented  the  interests  of  the  people,  in  the  Pro- 
in  all  three  pi'ietary  colonies  he  was  the  agent  of  the 
w^are^t"^*    Pcuus  Or  the  Calvcrts,  in  the  Royal  colonies 

aBsembly!^       ^®   ^^^  *^®  ^»^"*  ^^    ^^^^  ^"^S"        -^^    ^^^  thir- 

TOuiii'im-"^  teen  colonies  alike  had  a  legislative  assem- 
pose  taxes,  j^jy.  gi(»cte{j  \,j  the  pcoplc.  The  basis  of  rep- 
resentation might  be  different  in  different  colonies,  as 

^  Or,  as  they  were  sometimes  called,  Royal  provinces.  In  the 
history  of  Massachusetts  many  writers  distinguish  the  period 
before  1692  as  the  colonial  period,  and  the  period  1692  to  1774 
as  the  provincial  period. 


THE   COLONIAL   GOVERNMENTS.  155 

we  have  seen  that  in  Massachusetts  the  delegates  rep- 
resented townships,  whereas  in  Virginia  they  repre- 
sented counties  ;  but  i^i  all  alike  the  assembly  was  a 
truly  representative  body,  and  in  all  alike  it  was  the 
body  that  controlled  the  expenditure  of  public  money. 
These  representative  assemblies  arose  spontaneously 
because  the  founders  of  the  American  colonies  were 
Enoiishmen  used  from  time  immemorial  to  tax  them- 
selves  and  govern  themselves.  As  they  had  been 
wont  to  vote  for  representatives  in  England,  instead 
of  leaving  things  to  be  controlled  by  the  king,  so  now 
they  voted  for  representatives  in  Maryland  or  New 
York,  instead  of  leaving  things  to  be  controlled  by 
the  governor.  The  spontaneousness  of  all  this  is 
quaintly  and  forcibly  expressed  by  the  great  Tory  his- 
torian Hutchinson,  who  tells  us  that  in  the  year  1619  a 
house  of  burgesses  hrohe  cnit  in  Virginia !  as  if  it  had 
been  the  mumps,  or  original  sin,  or  any  of  those  things 
that  people  cannot  help  having. 

This  representative  assembly  was  the  lower  house 
in  the  colonial  legislatures.  The  governor  always  had 
a  council  to  advise  with  him  and  assist  him  in  his  execu- 
tive duties,  in  imitation  of  the  king's  privy 

Vi  1         -r»  •  1         11      1         Thegovem- 

council  in  England.     But  in  nearly  all  the  or's  council 

,.,..,,  .  1  ,      was  a  kiud 

colonies  this  council  took  part  m  the  work  of  upper 

i>     1       •  1      •  11  house. 

of  legislation,  and  thus  sat  as  an  upper 
house,  with  more  or  less  power  of  reviewing  and 
amending  the  acts  of  the  assembly.  In  Pennsylvania, 
as  already  observed,  the  council  refrained  from  this 
legislative  work,  and  so,  until  some  years  after  the 
Revolution,  the  Pennsylvania  legislature  was  one- 
chambered.  The  members  of  the  council  were  ap- 
pointed in  different  ways,  sometimes  by  the  king  or 
the  lord  proprietary,  or,  as  in  Massachusetts,  by  the 
outgoing  legislature,  or,  as  in  Connecticut,  they  were 
elected  by  the  people. 


15G  THE  STATE. 

Thus  all  the  colonies  had  a  government  framed 
after  the  model  to  which  the  people  had  been  accus- 
The  colonial  tomed  in  England.  It  was  like  the  English 
waTiike'the  sjstcm  in  miniature,  the  governor  answering 
feufto'min-  *o  the  king,  and  the  legislature,  usually  two- 
lature.  chambered,  answering  to  parliament.     And 

as  quarrels  between  king  and  parliament  were  not  un- 
common, so  quarrels  between  governor  and  legislature 
were  very  frequent  indeed,  except  in  Connecticut  and 
Rhode  Island.  The  royal  governors,  representing 
British  imperial  ideas  rather  than  American  ideas, 
were  sure  to  come  into  conflict  with  the  popular  assem- 
blies, and  sometimes  became  the  objects  of  bitter 
popular  hatred.  The  disputes  were  apt  to  be  con- 
cerned with  questions  in  which  taxation  was  involved, 
such  as  the  salaries  of  crown  officers,  the  appropri- 
ations for  war  with  the  Indians,  and  so  on.  Such 
disputes  bred  more  or  less  popvdar  discontent,  but 
the  struofs'le  did  not  become  flas^rant  so  long;  as  the 
British  parliament  refrained  from  meddling  with  it. 

The  Americans  never  regarded  parliament  as  pos- 
sessing any  rightful  authority  over  their  internal  af- 
fairs. When  the  earliest  colonies  were  founded,  it 
TheAmer-  ^as  the  general  theory  that  the  American 
admittedthe  wildcrncss  was  i)art  of  the  king's  jDrivate 
of^mdil-^  domain  and  not  subject  to  the  control  of 
ment;  parliament.     This  theory  lived  on  in  Amer- 

ica, but  died  out  in  England.  On  the  one  hand  the 
Americans  had  their  own  legislatures,  which  stood  to 
them  in  the  place  of  parliament.  The  authority  of 
parliament  was  derived  from  the  fact  that  it  was  a 
representative  body,  but  it  did  not  represent  Amer- 
icans. Accordingly  the  Americans  held  that  the  re- 
lation of  each  American  colony  to  Great  Britain  was 
like  the  relation  between  England  and  Scotland  in 


THE    COLONIAL   GOVERNMENTS.  157 

the  seventeenth  century.  England  and  Scotland  then 
had  the  same  king,  but  sej^arate  parliaments,  and  the 
English  parliament  could  not  make  laws  for  Scotland. 
Such  is  the  connection  between  Sweden  and  Norway 
at  the  present  day  ;  they  have  the  same  king,  but 
each  country  legislates  for  itseK.  So  the  American 
colonists  held  that  Virginia,  for  example,  and  Great 
Britain  had  the  same  king,  but  each  its  independent 
legislature ;  and  so  with  the  other  colonies,  —  there 
were  thirteen  parliaments  in  America,  each  as  sover- 
eign within  its  own  sphere  as  the  parliament  at  West- 
minster, and  the  latter  had  no  more  right  to  tax  the 
people  of  Massachusetts  than  the  Massachusetts  legis- 
lature had  to  tax  the  peojile  of  Virginia. 

In  one  respect,  however,  the  Americans  did  admit 
that  parliament  had  a  general  right  of  supervision 
over  all  parts  of  the  British  empire.  Mari-  except  lu  the 
time  commerce  seemed  to  be  as  much  the  maritime"  °^ 
afPair  of  one  part  of  the  empire  as  another,  «<"""«'<=«• 
and  it  seemed  right  that  it  should  be  regulated  by  the 
central  parliament  at  Westminster.  Accordingly  the 
Americans  did  not  resist  custom-house  taxes  as  long 
as  they  seemed  to  be  imposed  for  purely  commercial 
purposes  ;  but  they  were  quick  to  resist  direct  taxa- 
tion, and  custom-house  taxes  likewise,  as  soon  as  these 
began  to  form  a  part  of  schemes  for  extending  the 
authority  of  parliament  over  the  colonies. 

In  England,  on  the  other  hand,  this  theory  that  the 
Americans  were  subiect  to    the    king's    au-  ,  ^    ,    ^ 

''  ,  "  In  England 

thoritv  but  not  to  that  of  parliament  natu-  there  grew 

.  .     .  ,  ,   .  up  the  the- 

rallv  became  unintelligible   after   the    king  ory  of  the 

•'  ^  '-'  ,  imperial  su- 

himself  had  become  virtually  subiect  to  par-  premacy  of 

.    .  Ill  parliament. 

liament.     The  Stuart  kings  might  call  them- 
selves kings  by  the  grace  of  God,  but  since  1688  the  sov- 
ereigns of  Great  Britain  owe  their  seat  upon  the  throne 


158  THE  STATE. 

to  an  act  of  parliament.  To  suppose  that  the  king's 
American  subjects  were  not  amenable  to  the  authority 
of  parliament  seemed  like  supposing  that  a  stream 
could  rise  higher  than  its  source.  Besides,  after  1700 
the  British  empire  began  to  expand  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  and  the  business  of  parliament  became  more 
and  more  imperial.  It  could  make  laws  for  the  East 
India  Company  \  why  not,  then,  for  the  Company  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  ? 

Thus  the  American  theory  of  the  situation  was 
irreconcilable  with  the  British  theory,  and  when  par- 
liament in  1765,  with  no  unfriendly  purpose,  began 
laying  taxes  upon  the  Americans,  thus  invading  the 
province  of  the  colonial  legislatures,  the  Americans 
refused  to  submit.  The  ensuing  quarrel  might  doubt- 
Conflict  be-  ^^ss  havc  bccu  peacefully  adjusted,  had  not 
B^iti"ii*aud  the  king,  George  III.,  happened  to  be  enter- 
i^^^heT  taining  political  schemes  which  were  threat- 
cipitlted^by'  ened  with  ruin  if  the  Americans  should  get 
George  III.  ^  £g^jj.  jjeariug  for  their  side  of  the  case.^ 
Thus  political  intrigue  came  in  to  make  the  situation 
hopeless.  When  a  state  of  things  arises,  with  which 
men's  established  methods  of  civil  government  are  in- 
competent to  deal,  men  fall  back  upon  the  primitive 
method  which  was  in  vos^ue  before  civil  government 
began  to  exist.  They  fight  it  out ;  and  so  we  had  our 
Revolutionary  War,  and  became  separated  politically 
from  Great  Britain.  It  is  worthy  of  note,  in  this 
connection,  that  the  last  act  of  parliament,  whicli 
brought  matters  to  a  crisis,  was  the  so-called  Kegulat- 
ing  Act  of  April,  1774,  the  purpose  of  which  was  to 
change  the  government  of  Massachusetts.  This  act 
provided  that  members  of  the  council  should  be  ap- 

^  See  my  War  of  Independence,  pp.  58-64,  G9-71  (Riverside 
Library  for  Young  People) . 


THE   COLONIAL    GOVERNMENTS.  159 

pointed  by  the  royal  governor,  that  they  should  be  paid 
by  the  crown  and  thus  be  kept  subservient  to  it, 
that  the  principal  executive  and  judicial  officers  should 
be  likewise  paid  by  the  crown,  and  that  town-meetings 
should  be  prohibited  except  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
electing  town  officers.  Other  unwarrantable  acts  were 
passed  at  the  same  time,  but  this  was  the  worst. 
Troops  were  sent  over  to  aid  in  enforcing  this  act,  the 
people  of  Massachusetts  refused  to  recognize  its  valid- 
ity, and  out  of  this  political  situation  came  the  battles 
of  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill. 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE   TEXT. 

1 .  Various  claims  to  North  America  :  — 
a.  Spanish. 

h.  English. 
c.  French. 

2.  What  was  needed  to  make  such  claims  of  any  value  ? 

3.  The  London  and  Plymouth  companies  :  — 

a.  The  time  and  purpose  of  their  organization. 
h.  The  grant  to  the  London  Company. 

c.  The  grant  to  the  Plj'mouth  Company. 

d.  The  magnitude  of  the  zones  granted. 

e.  The  peculiar  provisions  for  the  intermediate  zone. 

f.  First  attempts  at  settlement. 

4.  To  what  important  principle  of  the  common  charter  of  these 

two  companies  did  the  colonists  persistently  cling  ? 

5.  The  influence  of  these  short-lived  companies  upon  the  settle- 

ment and  government  of  the  United  States  :  — 

a.  A  review  of  the  zones  and  their  assignment. 

b.  The  states  of  the  northern  zone  and  their  origin. 

c.  The  states  of  the  southern  zone  and  their  origin. 

d.  The  states  of  tbe  middle  zone  and  their  origin, 

e.  The   influence   of   the  movement  of  population  on  local 

government  in  each  zone. 

6.  Early  state  government  in  Virginia  :  — 

a.  The  part  appointed  and  the  jjart  elected. 

b.  The  first  legislative  body  in  America. 

c.  Tlie  dignity  of  its  members. 


160  THE  STATE. 

d.  The  reason  for  the  name  "  House  of  Burgesses." 

7.  Early  state  government  in  Massachusetts  :  — 

a.  The  Dorchester  Company. 

b.  The  government  provided  for  the  Company  of  Massachu- 

setts Bay  by  its  charter. 

c.  The  real  purpose  of  the  Puritan  leaders. 

d.  The  change  from  the  primary  assembly  of  freemen  to  the 

representative  assembly. 

e.  The  division  of  this  assembly  into  two  houses,  with  a  com- 

parison of  the  houses. 

f.  The  reason  for  the  name  "  General  Court." 

g.  The  loss  of  the  charter  and  the  causes  that  led  to  it. 
h.  The  new  charter  as  compared  with  the  old. 

8.  Compare  the  early  governments  of  Connecticut  and   Rhode 

Island  with  the  first  government  of  Massachusetts. 

9.  What  two  kinds  of  state  government  have  thus  far   been 

observed  ? 

10.  Early  state  government  in  Maryland  :  — 

a.  The  favouritism  of  the  crown  as  shown  in  land  grants. 
h.  The  palatine  counties  of  England. 

c.  The    bishopric  of    Durham  the  model   of  the   colony   of 

Maryland. 

d.  The  extraordinary  privileges  granted  Lord  Baltimore. 

e.  The  tribute  to  be  paid  in  return. 
/.  The  ruler  a  feudal  king. 

(J.  Limitations  of  the  ruler's  power. 

1 1.  Early  state  government  in  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  :  — 

a.  The  powers  of  Penn  as  compared  with  those  of  Calvert. 

b.  One  governor  and  council. 

c.  The  legislature  of  each  colony. 

d.  The  quarrels  of  the  Penns  and  Calverts. 

e.  Mason  and  Dixon's  line. 

12.  What  other  proprietary  governments   were  organized,  and 

what  was  their  fate  ? 

13.  Why  were  proprietary  governments  unpopular  ?     (Note  the 

exceptions,  however.) 

14.  Classify  and  define  the  forms  of  colonial  government  in  ex- 

istence at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution. 

15.  Show  that  these  forms  differed  chiefiy  in  respect  to  the  gov- 

ernor's office. 

16.  A  representative  assembly   in   each   of    the   thirteen   colo- 

nies :  — 


THE   TRANSITION.  161 

a.  The  basis  of  representation. 

b.  The  control  of  the  public  money. 

c.  The  spontaueousuess  of  the  representative  assembly. 

1 7.  The  governor's  council  :  — 

a.  The  custom  in  England. 

b.  The  council  as  an  upper  house. 

c.  The  council  in  Pennsylvania. 

18.  Compare  the  colonial  systems  with  the  British  (1)  in  organ- 

ization and  (2)  in  the  nature  of  their  political  quarrels. 

19.  What  was  the  American  theory  of  the  relation  of  each  col- 

ony to  the  British  parliament  ? 

20.  What  was  the  American  attitude  towards  maritime  regula- 

tions ? 

21.  What  was  the  British  theory  of  the  relation  of  the  Ameri- 

can colonies  to  parliament  ? 

22.  How  was  the  Revolutionary  War  brought  on  ? 

23.  Describe  the  last  act  of  parliament  that  brought  matters  to  a 

crisis. 

§  2.  The  Transition  from  Colonial  to  State  Gov- 
ernments. 
During  the  earlier  part  of  the  Revolutionary  War 
most  of  the  states  had  some  kind  of  provisional  gov- 
ernment. The  case  of  Massachusetts  may  serve  as  an 
illustration.  There,  as  in  the  other  colonies,  the  gov- 
ernor had  the  power  of  dissolving  the  assem-  Dissolution 
bly.  This  was  like  the  king's  power  of  dis-  biieTand 
solving  parliament  in  the  days  of  the  Stuarts.  P^^^'i'^ments. 
It  was  then  a  dangerous  power.  In  modern  England 
there  is  nothing  dangerous  in  a  dissolution  of  parlia- 
ment ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  a  useful  device  for  ascer- 
taining the  wishes  of  the  people,  for  a  new  House  of 
Commons  must  be  elected  immediately.  But  in  old 
times  the  king  would  turn  his  parliament  out  of  doors, 
and  as  long  as  he  could  beg,  borrow,  or  steal  enough 
money  to  carry  on  government  according  to  his  own 
notions,  he  would  not  order  a  new  election.  Fortu- 
nately such  periods  were  not  very  long.     The  latest 


162  THE  STATE. 

instance  was  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  who  got  on 
without  a  parliament  from  1629  to  1640.^  In  the 
American  colonies  the  dissolution  of  the  assembly  by 
the  governor  was  not  especially  dangerous,  but  it 
sometimes  made  mischief  by  delaying  needed  legisla- 
tion. During  the  few  years  preceding  the  Revolu- 
tion, the  assemblies  were  so  often  dissolved  that  it 
became  necessary  for  the  people  to  devise  some  new 
way  of  getting  their  representatives  together  to  act 
for  the  colony.  In  Massachusetts  this  end  was  at- 
tained by  the  famous  "  Committees  of  Correspondence." 

No  one  could  deny  that  town-meetings  were 
of  corre-       legal,   or    that  the  people  of   one  township 

had  a  I'ight  to  ask  advice  from  the  people  of 
another  township.  Accordingly  each  township  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  correspond  or  confer  with 
committees  from  other  townships.  This  system  was 
put  into  operation  by  Samuel  Adams  in  1772,  and  for 
the  next  two  years  the  popular  resistance  to  the  crown 
was  organized  by  these  committees.  For  example, 
before  the  tea  was  thrown  into  Boston  harbour,  the 
Boston  committee  sought  and  received  advice  from 
every  township  in  Massachusetts,  and  the  treatment 
of  the  tea-ships  was  from  first  to  last  directed  by  the 
committees  of  Boston  and  five  neighbour  towns. 

In  1774  a  further  step  was  taken.  As  parliament 
had  overthrown  the  old  government,  and  sent  over 
General  Gage  as  military  governor,  to  put  its  new  sys- 
tem into  operation,  the  people  defied  and  ignored 
Gage,   and  the  townships  elected  delegates  to  meet 

^  The  kings  of  France  contrived  to  get  along  without  a  rep- 
resentative assembly  from  1614  to  1789,  and  during  this  long 
period  abuses  so  multiplied  that  the  meeting  of  the  States-Gen- 
eral in  1789  precipitated  the  great  revolution  which  overthrew 
the  monarchy. 


THE   TRANSITION.  163 

together  In  what  was  called  a  "  Provincial  Congress." 
The  president  of  this  congress  was  the  chief  provincial 
executive  officer  of  the  commonwealth,  and  ^"'^sresa. 
there   was  a  small  executive  council,    known  as  the 
"  Committee  of  Safety." 

This  provisional  government  lasted  about  a  year.  In 
the  summer  of  1775  the  people  went  further.  They 
fell  back  ujion  their  charter  and  proceeded  to  carry  on 
their  government  as  it  had  been  carried  on  before 
1774,  except  that  the  governor  was  left  out  altogether. 
The  people  in  town-meeting  elected  their  representa- 
tives to  a  general  assembly,  as  of  old,  and  this  assembly 
chose  a  coimcil  of  twenty-eight  members  to  sit  as  an 
upper  house.  The  president  of  the  council  was  the  fore- 
most executive  officer  of  the  commonwealth,  but  he  had 
not  the  powers  of  a  governor.  He  was  no  more  the 
governor  than  the  president  of  our  federal  senate  is 
the  president  of  the  United  States.  The  powers  of  the 
governor  were  really  vested  in  the  council,  which  was 
an  executive  as  well  as  a  legislative  body,  and  the 
pi-esident  was  its  chairman.    Indeed,  the  title 

»)''iiT-r  ^      •         frovisional 

"  president     is  simply  the  L/atiu  for  "  chair-  govem- 

,,    ,  .,        ,,  .  ,      «  meats; 

man,     he  who  "presides     or  "sits  before      "govern- 

_  ,  ors "  and 

an  assembly.     In  1775  it  was  a  more  mod-  "presi- 

.  "^  dents." 

est  title  than  "  governor,"  and  had  not  the 
smack  of  semi-royalty  which  lingered  about  the  lat- 
ter. Governors  had  made  so  much  trouble  that  people 
were  distrustful  of  the  office,  and  at  fu'st  it  was 
thought  that  the  council  would  be  quite  sufficient  for 
the  executive  work  that  was  to  be  done.  Several  of 
the  states  thus  organized  their  governments  with  a 
council  at  the  head  instead  of  a  governor ;  and  hence 
in  reading  about  that  period  one  often  comes  across 
the  title  "  president,"  somewhat  loosely  used  as  if 
equivalent  to  governor.     Thus  in  1787  we  find  Benja- 


164  THE  STATE. 

min  Franklin  called  "  president  of  Pennsylvania," 
meaning  "president  of  the  council  of  Pennsylvania." 
But  this  arrangement  did  not  prove  satisfactory  and 
did  not  last  long.  It  soon  appeared  that  for  executive 
work  one  man  is  better  than  a  group  of  men.  In 
Massachusetts,  in  1780,  the  old  charter  was  replaced 
by  a  new  written  constitution,  under  which  was  formed 
the  state  government  which,  with  some  emendations  in 
detail,  has  continued  to  the  present  day.  Before  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century  all  the  states  except 
Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  which  had  always 
been  practically  independent,  thus  remodelled  their 
governments. 

These  changes,  however,  were  very  conservative. 
The  old  form  of  government  was  closely  followed. 
First  there  was  the  governor,  elected  in  some  states 
by  the  legislature,  in  others  by  the  people.  Then 
there  was  the  two-chambered  legislature,  of  which  the 
lower  house  was  the  same  institution  after  the  Revolu- 
originof  ^^^n  that  it  had  been  before.  The  upper 
the  Senates.  jjQ^^gg^  qj.  couucil,  was  retained,  but  in  a 
somewhat  altered  form.  The  Americans  had  been 
used  to  having  the  acts  of  their  popular  assemblies 
reviewed  by  a  council,  and  so  they  retained  this  revi- 
sory body  as  an  upper  house.  But  the  fashion  of 
copying  names  and  titles  from  the  ancient  Roman  re- 
public was  then  prevalent,  and  accordingly  the  upper 
house  was  called  a  Senate.  There  was  a  higher  prop- 
erty qualification  for  senators  than  for  representatives, 
and  generally  their  terms  of  service  were  longer.  In 
some  states  they  were  chosen  by  the  people,  in  others  by 
the  lower  house.  In  Maryland  they  were  chosen  by 
a  special  college  of  electors,  an  arrangement  which 
was  copied  in  our  federal  govei-ument  in  the  election 
of  the  president  of  the  United  States.     In  most  of  the 


THE   TRANSITION.  165 

states  there  was  a  lieutenant-governor,  as  there  had 
been  in  the  colonial  period,  to  serve  in  case  of  the 
governor's  death  or  incapacity  ;  ordinarily  the  lieuten- 
ant-governor presided  over  the  senate. 

Thus  our  state  governments  came  to  be  repetitions 
on  a  small  scale  of  the  king,  lords,  and  commons  of 
England.  The  governor  answered  to  the  king,  with 
his  dignity  very  much  curtailed  by  election  for  a  short 
period.  The  senate  answered  to  the  House  of  Lords 
except  in  being  a  representative  and  not  a  hereditary 
body.  It  was  supposed  to  rein-esent  more  especially 
that  part  of  the  community  which  was  possessed  of 
most  wealth  and  consideration  ;  and  in  several  states 
the  senators  were  apportioned  with  some  reference  to 
the  amount  of  taxes  paid  by  different  parts  of  the 
state.^  When  New  York  made  its  senate  a  supreme 
court  of  appeal,  it  was  in  deliberate  imitation  of  the 
House  of  Lords.  On  the  other  hand,  the  House  of 
Representatives  answered  to  the  House  of  Commons 
as  it  used  to  be  in  the  days  when  its  power  was  really 
limited  by  that  of  the  upper  house  and  the 

•'  ^  ■"■  T-i  •    1      Likenesses 

kingr.       At   the    present    day    the    Ensrlish  andditter- 

o  ■■■        ,  ''  ^  ences  be- 

House  of  Commons  is  a  supreme  body.  In  tween  Biit- 
case  of  a  serious  difference  with  the  House  American 

<•    T         1  1  1  •    T  1  systems. 

of  Lords,  the  upper  house  must  yield,  or 
else  new  peers  will  be  created  in  sufficient  number  to 
reverse  its  vote  ;  and  the  lords  always  yield  before  this 
point  is  reached.  So,  too,  though  the  veto  power  of 
the  sovereign  has  never  been  explicitly  abolished,  it 
has  not  been  exercised  since  1707,  and  would  not  now 
be  tolerated  for  a  moment.  In  America  there  is  no 
such  supreme  body.  The  bill  passed  by  the  lower 
house  may  be  thrown  out  by  the  upper  house,  or  if  it 
passes  both  it  may  be  vetoed  by  the  governor ;  and 
'  See  my  Critical  Period  of  American  History,  p.  68. 


166  THE  STATE. 

unless  the  bill  can  again  pass  both  houses  by  a  cer- 
tain increased  majority,  the  veto  will  stand. 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE   TEXT. 

1 .  The  dissolution  of  assemblies  and  parliaments  :  — 

a.  The  governor's  power  over  the  assembly  in  the  colonies. 

b.  The  king's  power  over  parliament  in  England. 

c.  The  danger  of  dissolution  in  the  time  of  the  Stuarts. 

d.  The  safety  of  dissolution  in  modern  England. 

e.  The  frequency  of  dissolution  before  the  Revolution. 

2.  Representation  of  the  people  in  the  provisional  government 

of  Massachusetts  :  — 

a.  The  committees  of  correspondence. 

b.  Their  function,  with  an  illustration  from  the  "  tea-ships." 

c.  The  provincial  congress. 
(1.  The  committee  of  safety. 

e.  The  return  to  the  two-chambered  legislature  of  the  char- 
ter. 

3.  Executive  powers  in  the  provisional  government  of  Massachu- 

setts ;  — 

a.  The  foremost  executive  officer. 

b.  Where  the  power  of  governor  was  really  vested. 

c.  Why  the  name  of  president  was  preferred  to  that  of  gov- 

ernor. 

d.  The  example  of  Massachusetts  followed  elsewhere. 

e.  The  end  of  provisional  government  in  1780. 

4.  The  council  transformed  to  a  senate  :  — 

a.  The  principle  of  reviewing  the  acts  of   the  popular  as- 
sembly, 
ft.  The  borrowing  of  Roman  names. 

c.  The  qualifications  and  service  of  senators. 

d.  The  lieutenant-governor. 

5.  Our  state  governments  patterned  after  the  government  of 

England  :  — 
a.  The  governor  and  the  king, 
ft.  The  Senate  and  the  House  of  Lords. 

c.  The  House  of  Representatives  and  the  House  of  Commons. 

d.  Some  differences   between  the    British   system  and   the 
American. 


THE  STATE   GOVERNMENTS.  167 

§  3.     The  State  Governments. 

During  the  present  century  our  state  governments 
have  undergone  more  or  less  revision,  chiefly  in  the 
way  of  abolishing  property  qualifications  for  office, 
making  the  suffrage  universal,  and  electing  officers 
that  were  formerly  appointed.  Only  in  Delaware 
does  there  still  remain  a  property  qualification  for 
senators.  There  is  no  longer  any  distinction  in 
principle  between  the  upper  and  lower  Later  modi- 
houses  of  the  legislature.  Both  represent  ^^""^ 
population,  the  usual  difference  being  that  the  senate 
consists  of  fewer  members  who  represent  larger  dis- 
tricts. Usually,  too,  the  term  of  the  representatives 
is  two  years,  and  the  whole  house  is  elected  at  the 
same  time,  while  the  term  of  senators  is  four  years, 
and  half  the  number  are  elected  every  two  years. 
This  system  of  two-chambered  legislatures  is  prob- 
ably retained  chiefly  through  a  spirit  of  conserva- 
tism, because  it  is  what  we  are  used  to.  But  it  no 
doubt  has  real  advantages  in  checking  hasty  legis- 
lation. People  are  always  wanting  to  have  laws  made 
about  all  sorts  of  things,  and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
their  laws  woidd  be  pernicious  laws  ;  so  that  it  is  well 
not  to  have  legislation  made  too  easy. 

The  suffrage  by  which  the  legislature  is  elected  is 
almost  universal.  It  is  given  in  all  the  states  to  all 
male  citizens  who  have  reached  the  age  of  one-and- 
twenty.  In  many  it  is  given  also  to  denizens  of  for- 
eign birth  who  have  declared  an  intention  of  becom- 
ing citizens.  In  some  it  is  given  without  further 
specification  to  every  male  LnJiabita?it  of  voting  age. 
Residence  in  the  state  for  some  period,  vary-  The  auf- 
ing  from  three  months  to  two  years  and  a  *'^^ 
half,  is  also  generally  required ;  sometimes  a  certain 


168  THE  STATE. 

length  of  residence  in  tlie  county,  the  town,  or  even 
in  the  voting  precinct,  is  prescribed.  In  many  of  the 
states  it  is  necessary  to  have  paid  one's  poll-tax. 
There  is  no  longer  any  property  qualification,  though 
there  was  until  recently  in  Rhode  Island.  Criminals, 
idiots,  and  lunatics  are  excluded  from  the  suffrage. 
Some  states  also  exclude  duellists  and  men  who  bet 
on  elections.  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  shut 
out  persons  who  are  vmable  to  read.  In  no  other 
country  has  access  to  citizenship  and  the  suffrage  been 
made  so  easy. 

A  peculiar  feature  of  American  governments,  and 
something  which  it  is  hard   for    Europeans 

Separation  -,  i     •         i  i  i 

between  leg-  to  Understand,  is  the  almost  complete  sepa- 
theexecu-  ration  between  the  executive  and  the  legis- 
lative departments.  In  European  countries 
the  great  executive  officers  are  either  members  of  the 
legislature,  or  at  all  events  have  the  right  to  be  present 
at  its  meetings  and  take  part  in  its  discussions  ;  and 
as  they  generally  have  some  definite  policy  by  which 
they  are  to  stand  or  fall,  they  are  wont  to  initiate  legis- 
lation and  to  guide  the  course  of  the  discussion.  But 
in  America  the  legislatures,  having  no  such  central 
points  about  which  to  rally  their  forces,  carry  on  their 
work  in  an  aimless,  rambling  sort  of  way,  through  the 
agency  of  many  standing  committees.  When  a  mea- 
sure is  proposed  it  is  referred  to  one  of  the  committees 
for  examination  before  the  house  will  have  anything 
to  do  with  it.  Such  a  preliminary  examination  is  of 
course  necessary  where  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  legis- 
lative work  going  on.  But  the  private  and  discon- 
nected way  in  which  our  committee  work  is  done 
tends  to  prevent  full  and  instructive  discussion  in  the 
house,  to  make  the  mass  of  legislation,  always  chaotic 
enough,  somewhat  more  chaotic,  and  to  facilitate  the 
various  evil  devices  of  lobbying  and  log-rolling. 


THE  STATE   GOVERNMENTS.  169 

In  pointing  out  this  inconvenience  attendant  upon 
the  American  plan  of  separating  the  executive  and 
legislative  departments,  I  must  not  be  understood  as 
advocating  the  European  plan  as  preferable  for  this 
country.  The  evils  that  inevitably  flow  from  any 
fundamental  change  in  the  institutions  of  a  countiy 
are  apt  to  be  much  more  serious  than  the  evils  which 
the  change  is  intended  to  remove.  Political  govern- 
ment is  like  a  plant ;  a  little  watering  and  pruning  do 
very  well  for  it,  but  the  less  its  roots  are  fooled  with, 
the  better.  In  the  American  system  of  government 
the  independence  of  the  executive  dei^artment,  with 
reference  to  the  legislative,  is  fundamental ;  and  on 
the  whole  it  is  eminently  desirable.  One  of  the  most 
serious  of  the  dangers  which  beset  democratic  govern- 
ment, especially  where  it  is  conducted  on  a  great  scale, 
is  the  danger  that  the  majority  for  the  time  being  will 
use  its  power  tyrannically  and  unscrupulously,  as  it  is 
always  tempted  to  do.  Against  such  unbridled  democ- 
racy we  have  striven  to  guard  ourselves  by  various 
constitutional  checks  and  balances.  Our  written  con- 
stitutions and  our  Supreme  Court  are  important  safe- 
guards, as  will  be  shown  below.  The  independence 
of  our  executives  is  another  important  safeguard. 
But  if  our  executive  departments  were  mere  com- 
mittees of  the  legislature  —  like  the  English  cabinet, 
for  example  —  this  independence  could  not  possibly 
be  maintained ;  and  the  loss  of  it  would  doubtless 
entail  upon  us  evils  far  greater  than  those  which 
now  flow  from  want  of  leadership  in  our  legislatures.^ 

^  In  two  admirable  essays  on  "  Cabinet  Responsibility  and  the 
Constitution,"  and  "Democracy  and  the  Constitution,"  Mr. 
Lawrence  Lowell  has  convincingly  argued  that  the  American 
system  is  best  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  this  country. 
Lowell,  Essays  on  Government,  pp.  20-117,  Boston,  1890. 


170  THE  STATE. 

We  must  remember  that  government  is  necessarily  a 
cumbrous  affair,  however  conducted. 

The  only  occasion  on  which  the  governor  is  a  part 
of  the  legislature  is  when  he  signs  or  vetoes  a  bill. 
The  state  Then  he  is  virtually  in  himself  a  third  house. 
executive.  ^g  ^^  exccutivc  officer  the  governor  is  far 
less  powerful  than  in  the  colonial  times.  We  shall 
see  the  reason  of  this  after  we  have  enumerated  some 
of  the  principal  offices  in  the  executive  department. 
There  is  always  a  secretary  of  state,  whose  main  duty 
is  to  make  and  keep  the  records  of  state  transactions. 
There  is  always  a  state  treasurer,  and  usually  a  state 
auditor  or  comptroller  to  examine  the  public  accounts 
and  issue  the  warrants  without  which  the  treasurer 
cannot  pay  out  a  penny  of  the  state's  money.  There 
is  almost  always  an  attorney-general,  to  appear  for 
the  state  in  the  supreme  court  in  all  cases  in  which 
the  state  is  a  party,  and  in  all  prosecutions  for  capital 
offences.  He  also  exercises  some  superintendence 
over  the  district  attorneys,  and  acts  as  legal  adviser 
to  the  governors  and  the  legislature.  There  is  also  in 
many  states  a  superintendent  of  education ;  and  in 
some  there  are  boards  of  education,  of  health,  of 
lunacy  and  charity,  bureaux  of  agriculture,  commis- 
sioners of  prisons,  of  railroads,  of  mines,  of  harbours, 
of  immigration,  and  so  on.  Sometimes  such  boards 
are  appointed  by  the  govei-nor,  but  such  officers  as 
the  secretary  of  state,  the  treasurer,  auditor,  and  at- 
torney-general are,  in  almost  all  the  states,  elected  by 
the  people.  They  are  not  responsible  to  the  governor, 
but  to  the  people  who  elect  them.  They  are  not  sub- 
ordinate to  the  governor,  but  are  rather  his  colleagues. 
Strictly  speaking,  the  governor  is  not  the  head  of  the 
executive  department,  but  a  member  of  it.  The  exec- 
utive department  is  parcelled  out  in  several  pieces, 
and  his  is  one  of  the  pieces. 


THE  STATE   GOVERNMENTS.  171 

The  ordinary  functions  of  the  governor  are  four  in 
number.     1.  He  sends  a  message  to  the  legislature, 
at  the  beginning  of  each  session,  recommend-  xhe  mov- 
ing such  measures  as  he  would  like  to  see  tio'us'^-VAdl 
embodied   in    legislation.       2.    He    is    com-  ^Jia^ture  ^*^^ 
mander-in-chief  of  the  state  militia,  and  as  commander 

'  of  state 

such  can  assist  the  sheriff  of  a  county  in  "^'t'a- 
putting  down  a  riot,  or  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  the  event  of  a  war.  On  such  occasions  the 
governor  may  become  a  personage  of  immense  impor- 
tance, as,  for  example,  in  our  Civil  War,  when  Pres- 
ident Lincoln's  demands  for  troops  met  with  such 
prompt  response  from  the  men  who  will  be  known  to 
history  as  the  great  "  war  governors."  3.  The  gov- 
ernor is  invested  with  the  royal  prerog'ative 

.      ,  J  i.  O  3_  Royal  pre- 

of  pardoning  crnninals,  or  commuting;  the   rogativeof 

^  °  '  ^  pardon. 

sentences  pronounced  upon  them  by  the 
courts.  Tliis  power  belongs  to  kings  in  accordance 
with  the  old  feudal  notion  that  the  king  was  the 
source  or  fountain  of  justice.  When  properly  used 
it  affords  an  opportunity  for  rectifying  some  injustice 
for  which  the  ordinary  machinery  of  the  law  could 
not  provide,  or  for  making  such  allowances  for  extraor- 
dinary circumstances  as  the  court  could  not  properly 
consider.  In  our  country  it  is  too  often  improjjcrly 
used  to  enable  the  worst  criminals  to  escape  due 
punishment,  just  because  it  is  a  disagreeable  duty  to 
hang  them.  Such  misplaced  clemency  is  pleasant  for 
the  murderers,  but  it  makes  life  less  secure  for  honest 
men  and  women,  and  in  the  less  civilized  regions  of 
our  country  it  encourages  lynch  law.  4.  In  all  the 
states  except  Rhode  Island,  Delaware,  Ohio,  and 
North  Carolina,  the  governor  has  a  veto  upon  the  acts 
of  the  legislature,  as  above  explained ;  and  in  ordinary 
times  this  power,  which  is  not  executive  but  legisla- 


172  THE  STATE. 

tive,  is  probably  the  g'overnoi*'s  most  important  and 
considerable  power.  In  thirteen  of  the  states  the  gov- 
ernor can  veto  particular  items  in  a  bill  for  the  appro- 
4.vetopow-  priation  of  public  money,  while  at  the  same 
^^'  time  he  approves  the  rest  of  the  bill.     This 

is  a  most  important  safeguard  against  corruption,  be- 
cause where  the  governor  does  not  have  this  power 
it  is  possible  to  make  appropriations  for  unworthy 
or  scandalous  purposes  along  with  appropriations  for 
matters  of  absolute  necessity,  and  then  to  lump  them 
all  together  in  the  same  bill,  so  that  the  governor 
must  either  accept  the  bad  along  with  the  good  or  re- 
ject the  good  along  with  the  bad.  It  is  a  great  gain 
when  the  governor  can  select  the  items  and  veto  some 
while  approving  others.  In  such  matters  the  gov- 
ernor is  often  more  honest  and  discreet  than  the  legis- 
lature, if  for  no  other  reason,  because  he  is  one  man, 
and  responsibility  can  be  fixed  upon  him  more  clearly 
than  upon  two  or  three  hundred. 

Such,  in  brief  outline,  is  the  framework  of  the 
American  state  governments.  But  our  account  would 
be  very  incomplete  without  some  mention  of  three 
points,  all  of  them  especially  characteristic  of  the 
American  state,  and  likely  to  be  overlooked  or  misun- 
derstood by  Europeans. 

Firsts  while  we  have  ra])idly  built  up  one  of  the 

greatest  emj)ires  yet  seen  upon  the  earth,  we  have  left 

our  self-government  substantially  unimpaired 

In  building        .  °  mi   •        •  i-n     i     • 

the  state,       HI  the  proccss.      Ihis  IS  exem])lined  m   two 

the  local  ,  .  i  •  /•      i 

self-govern-    ways :  ilrst,  in  the  relationship  oi  the  state 

mentwas  .  ,  \,  n        • 

left  unim-  to  its  towns  and  counties,  and,  secondly,  m 
its  relationship  to  the  federal  government. 
Over  the  township  and  county  governments  the  state 
exercises  a  general  supervision ;  indeed,  it  clothes 
them  with  their  authority.     Townships  and   counties 


THE  STATE   GOVERNMENTS.  173 

have  uo  sovereignty ;  the  state,  on  the  other  hand, 
has  many  elements  of  sovereignty^  but  it  does  not  use 
them  to  obliterate  or  unduly  restrict  the  control  of  the 
townships  and  counties  over  their  own  administrative 
work.  It  leaves  the  local  governments  to  administer 
themselves.  As  a  rule  there  is  only  just  enough  state 
supervision  to  harmonize  the  working  of  so  many  local 
administrations.  Such  a  system  of  government  comes 
as  near  as  possible  toward  making  all  American  citi- 
zens participate  actively  in  the  management  of  j)ublic 
affairs.  It  generates  and  nourishes  a  public  spirit 
and  a  universal  acquaintance  with  matters  of  public 
interest  such  as  has  probably  never  before  been  seen 
in  any  great  country.  Public  spirit  of  equal  or  greater 
intensity  may  have  been  witnessed  in  small  and  highly 
educated  communities,  such  as  ancient  Athens  or  me- 
diaeval Florence,  but  in  the  United  States  it  is  diffused 
over  an  area  equal  to  the  whole  of  Europe.  Among 
the  leading  countries  of  the  world  England  is  the  one 
which  comes  nearest  to  the  United  States  in  the  gen- 
eral diffusion  of  enlightened  public  spirit  and  political 
capacity  throughout  all  classes  of  society. 

A  very  notable  contrast  to  the  self-government  which 
has  produced  such  admirable  results  is  to  be  seen  in 
France,  and  as  contrasts  are  often  instructive,  let  me 
mention  one  or  two  features  of  the  French  gfovernment. 
There  is  nothing  like  the  irregularity  and  spontaneity 
there   that   we   have  observed  in   our  survey  of  the 
United  States.     Everything  is  symmetrical.     France 
is  divided  into  eighty-nine  dejmrtments^  most  instructive 
of  them  larger  than  the  state  of  Delaware,  ^,""1'"'^* 
some  of  them  nearly  as  lai-ge  as  Connecticut,   ^'■''"<=^- 
and  the  administration  of  one  department  is  exactly 
like  that  of  all  the  others.     The  chief  officer  of  the  de- 
partment is  the  prefect,  who  is  appointed  by  the  minister 


174  THE  STATE. 

of  the  interior  at  Paris.  The  prefect  is  treasurer,  re- 
cruiting officer,  school  superintendent,  all  in  one,  and 
he  appoints  nearly  all  inferior  officers.  The  department 
has  a  council,  elected  by  universal  suffrage,  but  it  has 
no  power  of  assessing  taxes.  The  central  legislature  in 
Paris  decides  for  it  how  much  money  it  shall  use  and 
how  it  shall  raise  it.  The  department  council  is  not 
even  allowed  to  express  its  views  on  political  matters ; 
it  can  only  attend  to  purely  local  details  of  adminis- 
tration. 

The  smallest  civil  division  in  France  is  the  com- 
mune, which  may  be  either  rural  or  urban.  The 
commune  has  a  municipal  council  which  elects  a 
mayor ;  but  when  once  elected  the  mayor  becomes  di- 
rectly responsible  to  the  prefect  of  the  department, 
and  through  him  to  the  minister  of  the  interior.  If 
these  greater  officers  do  not  like  what  the  mayor  does, 
they  can  overrule  his  acts  or  even  suspend  him  from 
office ;  or  upon  their  complaint  the  President  of  the 
Republic  can  remove  him. 

Thus  in  France  people  do  not  manage  their  own 

affairs,  but  they  are  managed  for  them  by  a  hierarchy 

of  officials  with  its  head  at  Paris.     This  sys- 

whetiier  it  is  tcui  was  de\dsed  by  the  Constituent  Assembly 

nominally  a      ,        .  rrr\r\  i  i        •  i  i 

despotic  em-  in  1790  and  Avrought  into  completeness  by 
public  atthe  Napolcou  iu  1800.     The  men  who  devised  it 

top,  there  is     .       ::  rrr\r\  n  i      i  i 

scarcely  any  in  1790  actually  supposcd  tliat  tliey  were  in- 
mentatthe    augurating  a  system  of  political  freedom  (!), 

bottom.  ,  •    '      1  1        • ,  i     • 

Hence  gov-  and  Unquestionably  it  was  a  vast  improve- 
there  rests  ment  upon  the  wretched  system  which  it 
cure  fouu-  Supplanted ;  but  as  contrasted  with  Amer- 
ican methods  and  institutions,  it  is  difficult 
to  call  it  anything  else  than  a  highly  centralized  des- 
potism. It  has  gone  on  without  essential  change 
through    all   the  revolutions   which   have   overtaken 


THE   STATE   GOVERNMENTS.  175 

France  since  1800.  The  people  have  from  time  to 
time  overthrown  an  unpojjular  government  at  Paris, 
but  they  have  never  assumed  the  direct  control  of 
their  own  affairs. 

Hence  it  is  commonly  remarked  that  while  the 
general  intelligence  of  the  French  people  is  very 
high,  their  intelligence  in  political  matters  is,  com- 
l^aratively  speaking,  very  low.  Some  persons  try  to 
explain  this  by  a  reference  to  peculiarities  of  race. 
But  if  we  Americans  were  to  set  about  giving  to  the 
state  governments  things  to  do  that  had  better  be 
done  by  counties  and  towns,  and  giving  the  federal 
government  things  to  do  that  had  better  be  done  by 
the  states,  it  would  not  take  many  generations  to 
dull  the  keen  edge  of  our  political  capacity.  We 
should  lose  it  as  inevitably  as  the  most  consum- 
mate of  pianists  will  lose  his  facility  if  he  stops  prac- 
tising. It  is  therefore  a  fact  of  cardinal  importance 
that  in  the  United  States  the  local  governments  of 
township,  county,  and  city  are  left  to  administer  them- 
selves instead  of  being  administered  by  a  great  bureau 
with  its  head  at  the  state  capital.  In  a  political  society 
thus  constituted  from  the  beginning  it  has  proved  pos- 
sible to  build  up  our  Federal  Union,  in  which  the 
states,  while  for  certain  purposes  indissolubly  united, 
at  the  same  time  for  many  other  purposes  retain  their 
self-government  intact.  As  in  the  case  of  other  aggre- 
gates, the  nature  of  the  American  political  aggregate 
has  been  determined  by  the  nature  of  its  political 
units. 

Secondly.,  let  us  observe  how  great  are  the  func- 
tions retained  by  our  states  under  the  conditions  of 
our  Federal  Union.  The  powers  granted  to  our  fed- 
eral government,  such  as  the  control  over  interna- 
tional  questions,   war    and  peace,  the   military  forces, 


176  THE  STATE. 

the  coinage,  patents  and  copyrights,  and  the  reguhi- 
tion  of  commerce  between  the  states  and  with 

Vastness  of  . 

the  fimc-       loreii^n  conntnes,  —  all  these  are  powers  re- 

tions  re-  .       .  .  „, 

tainedby       latmg  to  mattcps  that  attect  all  the  states, 

the  states  in,  ,,  ,  iii  'ii 

the  Amer-      but  could  not  DC  rcgiilated  harmonionsly  by 

ican  Union.        ,  •  c      i  t  i 

the  separate  action  oi  the  states.  In  order 
the  more  completely  to  debar  the  states  from  meddling 
with  such  matters,  they  are  expressly  prohibited  from 
entering  into  agreements  with  each  other  or  with  a 
foreign  power;  they  cannot  engage  in  war,  save  in 
case  of  actual  invasion  or  such  imminent  danger  as 
admits  of  no  delay  ;  without  consent  of  Congress  they 
cannot  keej)  a  military  or  naval  force  in  time  of  peace, 
or  impose  custom-house  duties.  Besides  all  this  they 
are  prohibited  from  granting  titles  of  nobility,  coining 
money,  emitting  bills  of  credit,  making  anything  but 
gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts, 
passing  bills  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  laws,  or  laws 
imjDairing  the  obligation  of  contracts.  The  force  of 
these  latter  restrictions  will  be  explained  hereafter. 
Such  are  the  limitations  of  sovereignty  imposed  upon 
the  states  within  the  Federal  Union. 

"  Compared  with  the  vast  prerogatives  of  the  state 
legislatures,  these  limitations  seem  small  enough.  All 
the  civil  and  religious  rights  of  our  citizens  depend 
upon  state  legislation ;  the  education  of  the  people  is 
in  the  care  of  the  states  ;  with  them  rests  the  regula- 
tion of  the  suffrage  ;  they  prescribe  the  rules  of  mar- 
riage, the  legal  relations  of  husband  and  wife,  of  par- 
ent and  child ;  they  determine  the  powers  of  masters 
over  servants  and  the  whole  law  of  principal  and  agent, 
which  is  so  vital  a  matter  in  all  business  transactions ; 
they  regulate  partnership,  debt  and  credit,  insurance ; 
they  constitute  all  corporations,  both  private  and  mu- 
nicipal, except  such  as  specially  fulfill  the  financial  or 


THE  STATE   GOVERNMENTS.  177 

other  specific  functions  of  the  federal  government; 
they  control  the  possession,  distribution,  and  use  of 
property,  the  exercise  of  trades,  and  all  contract  rela- 
tions ;  and  they  formulate  and  administer  all  criminal 
law,  except  only  that  which  concerns  crimes  com- 
mitted against  the  United  States,  on  the  high  seas, 
or  against  the  law  of  nations.  Space  would  fail  in 
which  to  enumerate  the  particulars  of  this  vast  range 
of  power ;  to  detail  its  parts  would  be  to  catalogue  all 
social  and  business  relationships,  to  examine  all  the 
foundations  of  law  and  order."  ^ 

This  enumeration,  by  Mr.  Woodrow  Wilson,  is  so 
much  to  the  point  that  I  content  myself  with  transcrib- 
ing it.  A  very  remarkable  illustration  of  mustration 
the  preponderant  part  played  by  state  law  EugiisiTwl 
in  America  is  given  by  Mr.  Wilson,  in  pur-  *°'"^' 
suance  of  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Franklin  Jameson.^ 
Consider  the  most  important  subjects  of  legislation  in 
England  during  the  present  century,  the  subjects 
which  make  up  almost  the  entire  constitutional  history 
of  England  for  eighty  years.  These  subjects  are 
"  Catholic  emancipation,  parliamentary  reform,  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  the  amendment  of  the  poor-laws, 
the  reform  of  municipal  corporations,  the  reiJeal  of 
the  corn  laws,  the  admission  of  Jews  to  parliament, 
the  disestablishment  of  the  Irish  church,  the  altera- 
tion of  the  Irish  land  laws,  the  establishment  of  na- 
tional education,  the  introduction  of  the  ballot,  and 
the  reform  of  the  criminal  law."  In  the  United  States 
only  two  of  these  twelve  great  subjects  could  be  dealt 
with  by  the  federal  government :  the   repeal  of  the 

^  Woodrow  Wilson,  The-  State :  Elements  of  Historical  and 
Practical  Politics,  p.  437. 

-  Jiuueson,  "  The  Study  of  the  Constitutional  and  Political 
History  of  the  States,"  /.  H.  U.  Studies,  IV.,  v. 


1T8  THE  STATE. 

corn  laws,  as  being  a  question  of  national  revenue  and 
custom-house  duties,  and  the  abolition  of  slaveiy,  by 
virtue  of  a  constitutional  amendment  embodying  some 
of  the  residts  of  our  Civil  War.  All  the  other  ques- 
tions enumerated  would  have  to  be  dealt  with  by  our 
state  governments ;  and  before  the  war  that  was  the 
case  with  the  slavery  question  also.  A  more  vivid 
illustration  could  not  be  asked  for. 

How  complete  is  the  circle  of  points  in  which  the 
state  touches  the  life  of  the  American  citizen,  we  may 
sec  in  the  fact  that  our  state  courts  make  a 
ecce  of  the  complctc  judiciary  system,  from  top  to  bot- 
tom independent  of  the  federal  courts.  An 
appeal  may  be  carried  from  a  state  court  to  a  federal 
court  in  cases  wliich  are  found  to  involve  points  of 
federal  law,  or  in  suits  arising  between  citizens  of  dif- 
ferent states,  or  where  foreign  ambassadors  are  con- 
cerned. Except  for  such  cases  the  state  courts  make 
up  a  complete  judiciary  world  of  their  own,  quite  out- 
side the  sphere  of  the  United  States  courts. 

We  have  already  had  something  to  say  about  courts 
in  connection  with  those  primitive  areas  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice,  the  hundred  and  the  county. 
In  our  states  there  are  generally  four  grades  of  courts. 
There  are,  first,  the  justices  of  the  peace,  with  juris- 
diction over  "  petty  police  offenc^es  and  civil  suits  for 
trifling  sums."  They  also  conduct  preliminary  hearings 
in  cases  where  persons  are  accused  of  serious  crimes,  and 
when  the  evidence  seems  to  warrant  it  they  may  com- 
mit the  accused  person  for  trial  before  a  higher  court. 
The  mayor's  court  in  a  city  usually  has  jurisdiction  sim- 
ilar to  that  of  justices  of  the  peace.  Secondly,  there 
are  county  and  municipal  courts,  which  hear  appeals 
from  justices  of  the  peace  and  from  mayor's  courts, 
and  have  original  jurisdiction  over  a  more  important 


THE  STATE   GOVERNMENTS.  179 

grade  of  civil  and  criminal  cases.     Thirdly,  there  are 
superior  courts,  havinir  orioinal  iurisdietion 

^  .  o  o  J  Constitution 

over  the  most  important  cases  and  over  wider  of  the  state 

courts. 

areas  or  country,  so  that  they  do  not  con- 
fine their  sessions  to  one  place,  hut  move  about  from 
place  to  place,  like  the  English  justices  in  eyre. 
Cases  are  carried  up,  on  appeal,  from  the  lower  to  the 
superior  court.  Fourthly,  there  is  in  every  state  a 
supreine  courts  which  generally  has  no  original  juris- 
diction, but  only  hears  appeals  from  the  decisions  of 
the  other  courts.  In  New  York  there  is  a  "  supremest  " 
court,  styled  the  coui't  of  apjjecds,  which  has  the  power 
of  revising  sundry  judgments  of  the  supreme  court ; 
and  there  is  something  similar  in  New  Jersey,  Illinois, 
Kentucky,  and  Louisiana.^ 

In  the  thirteen  colonies  the  judges  were  appointed 
by  the  governor,  with  or  without  the  consent  of  the 
council,  and  they  held  office  during  life  or  good  be- 
haviour. Among  the  changes  made  in  our  state  con- 
stitutions since  the  Revolution,  there  have  been  few 
more  important  than  those  which  have  affected  the 
position  of  the  judges.  In  most  of  the  states  they  are 
now  elected  by  the  people  for  a  term  of  years,  some- 
times as  short  as  two  years.  There  is  a  growing  feel- 
ing that  this  change  was  a  mistake.  It  seems  to  have 
lowered  the  general  character  of  the  judiciary.  The 
change  was  made  by  reasoning  from  analogy  :  it  was 
supposed  that  in  a  free   country  all  offices 

*■  -^  II'  Elective  and 

ought  to   be   elective   and  for  short  terms,   appointive 

-r-»  .  .  judges. 

But  the  case  of  a  judge  is  not  really  analo- 
gous to  that  of  executive  officers,  like  mayors  and 
governors  and  presidents.  The  history  of  popular 
liberty  is  much  older  than  the  history  of  the  United 
States,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  point  to  an  in- 
1  Wilson,  The  State,  pp.  509-513. 


180  THE  STATE. 

stance  in  whicli  popiilai*  liberty  has  ever  suffered  from 
the  life  tenure  of  judges.  On  the  contrary,  the  judge 
ought  to  be  as  independent  as  possible  of  all  transient 
phases  of  popular  sentiment,  and  American  experience 
during  the  past  century  seems  to  teach  us  that  in  the 
few  states  where  the  appointing  of  judges  during  life 
or  good  behaviour  has  prevailed,  the  administration 
of  justice  has  been  better  than  in  the  states  where  the 
judges  have  been  elected  for  specified  terms.  Since 
1869  there  has  been  a  marked  tendency  toward 
leng-thening  the  terms  of  elected  judges,  and  in  several 
states  there  has  been  a  return  to  the  old  method  of 
appointing  judges  by  the  governor,  subject  to  confir- 
mation by  the  senate.^  It  is  one  of  the  excellent  fea- 
tures of  our  system  of  federal  government,  that  the 
several  states  can  thus  try  experiments  each  for  itself 
and  learn  by  comparison  of  results.  When  things  are 
all  trimmed  down  to  a  dead  level  of  uniformity  by  the 
central  power,  as  in  France,  a  prolific  source  of  valu- 
able experiences  is  cut  off  and  shut  up. 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE   TEXT. 

1.  Modifications  of  stale  government  during  the  present  cen- 

tury :  — 
a.  Property  qualifications  for  office. 

h.  The  distinction  between  the  upper  and  the  lower  house, 
c.  The  advantage  in  retaining  a  two-chambered  legislature. 

2.  The  suffrage  :  — 

a.  The  persons  to  whom  it  is  granted. 

h.  The  qualifications  established. 

c.  The  persons  excluded  from  its  exercise. 

3.  The    separation   of    the   executive   and   legislative   depart- 

ments :  — 
a.  The  relation  of  the  great  executive  officers  to  legislation 

in  Europe. 
h.  The  work  of  legislation  in  the  United  States. 
^  For  details,  see  the  admirable  monograph  of  Henry  Hitch- 
cock, American  State  Constitutions,  p.  53. 


THE  STATE   GOVERNMENTS.  181 

c.  The  most  serious  of  the  dangers   that  beset   democratic 

government. 

d.  ImiJortant  safeguards  against  such  a  danger. 

4.  The  state  executive  :  — 

a.  The  governor  as  a  part  of  the  legislature. 

h.  Officers  always  belonging  to  executive  departments. 

c.  Officers  frequently  belonging  to  executive  departments. 

d.  The  relation  of  the  governor  to  other  elected  executive 

officers. 

5.  The  ordinary  functions  of  the  governor  :  — 
a.  Advising  the  legislature. 

h.  Commanding  the  militia. 

c.  Pardoning  criminals  or  commuting  their  sentences. 

d.  Vetoing  acts  of  the  legislature. 

6.  Why  is  the  power  to  veto  particular  items  in  a  bill  appro- 

priating  public  money  an  important  safeguard  against 
corruption  ? 

7.  Local   self-government   in   the    United    States    left    unim- 

paired :  — 
a.  The  extent  of  state  supervision  of  towns  and  counties. 
h.  The  spirit  thus  developed  in  American  citizens. 

8.  A  lesson  from  the  symmetry  of  the  French  government :  — 

a.  The  departments  and  their  administration. 

b.  The  prefect  and  his  duties. 

c.  The  department  council  and  its  sphere  of  action. 

d.  The  commune. 

e.  The  French  system  contrasted  with  the  American. 

f.  A  common  view  of  the  political  intelligence  of  the  French. 

g.  The  probable  effect  of  excessive  state  control  upon   the 

political  intelligence  of  Americans. 

9.  The  greatness  of  the  functions  retained  by  the  states  under 

the  federal  government  :  — 
a.  Powers  granted  to  tlie  government  of  the  United  States. 
h.  The  reason  for  granting  such  powers. 

c.  The  powers  denied  to  the  states. 

d.  The  reason  for  such  prohibitions. 

e.  The  vast  range  of  powers  exercised  by  the  states. 

f.  The  most  important  subjects  of  legislation  in  England  for 

the  past  eighty  years. 

g.  The  governments,  state  or  national,  to  Avhich  these  twelve 

subjects  would  have  fallen  in  the  United  States. 
10.  Speak  of  the  independence  of  the  state  courts. 


182  THE   STATE. 

1 1 .  In  what  cases  only  may  matters  be  transferred  from  them  to 

a  federal  court  ? 

1 2.  The  constitution  of  the  state  courts  :  — 

a.  Justices  of  the  peace  ;  the  mayor's  court. 
h.  County  and  municipal  courts. 

c.  The  superior  courts. 

d.  The  supreme  court. 

e.  Still  higher  courts  in  certain  states. 

13.  The  selection  of  judges  and  their  terms  of  service  :  — - 

a.  In  the  thirteen  colonies. 

b.  In  most  of  the  states  since  the  Revolution. 

c.  The  reasons  for  a  life  tenure. 

d.  The  tendency  since  1869. 

14.  Mention  a  conspicuous  advantage  of  our  system  of  govern- 

ment over  the  French. 

SUGGESTIVE    QUESTIONS    AND   DIRECTIONS. 

1.  Was  there  ever  a  charter  government  in  your  state  ?     If  so, 

where  is  the  charter  at  the  present  time  ?  What  is  its 
present  value  ?  Try  to  see  it,  if  possible.  (Pupils  of 
Boston  and  vicinity,  for  example,  may  examine  in  the 
office  of  the  secretary  of  state,  at  tlie  state  house,  the 
charter  of  King  Charles  (1629)  and  that  of  William  and 
and  Mary  (1692). 

2.  When  was  your  state   organized  under  its  present  govern- 

ment ?  If  it  is  not  one  of  the  original  thirteen,  what 
was  its  history  previous  to  organization  ;  that  is,  who 
owned  it  and  controlled  it,  and  how  came  it  to  become  a 
state  ? 

3.  What  are  the  qualifications  for  voting  in  your  state  ? 

4.  What  are  the  arguments  in  favour  of  an  educational  qualifica- 

tion for  voters  (as,  for  example,  the  ability  to  read  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States)  ?  What  reasons 
might  be  urged  against  such  qualifications  ? 

5.  Who  is  the  governor  of  your  state  ?     What  political  party 

supported  him  for  the  position  ?  For  what  ability  or 
eminent  service  was  he  selected  ? 

6.  Give  illustrations  of  the  governor's  exercise  of  the  four  func- 

tions of  advising,  vetoing,  pardoning,  and  commanding 
(consult  the  newspapers  while  the  legislature  is  in  session). 

7.  Mention  some  things  done  by  the  governor  tliat  are  not  in- 

cluded vi  tlie  enumeration  of  his  functions  in  the  text. 


THE  STATE   GOVERNMENTS.  183 

8.  Visit,  if  practicable,  the  State  House.     Observe  the  various 

offices,  aud  consider  the  general  nature  of  the  business 
done  there.  Attend  a  session  of  the  Senate  or  the  House 
of  Representatives.     Obtain  some  "  orders  of  the  day." 

9.  If  the  legislature  is  in  session,  follow  its  proceedings  in  the 

newspapers.  What  important  measures  are  under  dis- 
cussion ?  On  what  sort  of  questions  are  party  lines 
pretty  sharply  drawn  ?  On  what  sort  of  questions  are 
party  distinctions  ignored  ? 

10.  Consult  the  book  of  general  or  public  statutes,  and  report  on 

the  following  points  :  — 

a.  The  magnitude  of  the  volume. 

b.  Does  it  contain  all  the  laws  ?     If  not,  'vyhat  are  omitted  ? 

c.  Give  some  of  the  topics  dealt  with. 

d.  Where  are  the  laws  to  be  found  that  have  been  made 

since  the  printing  of  the  volume  ? 

e.  Are  the  originals  of  the  laws  in  the  volume  ?     If  not^ 

where  are  they  and  in  what  shape  ? 

11.  Is  everybody  expected  to  know  all  the  laws  ? 

£  2.  Does  ignorance  of  the  law  excuse  one  for  violating  it  ? 

13.  Suppose  people  desire  the  legislature  to  pass  some  law,  as, 

for  example,  a  law  requiring  towns  and  cities  to  provide 
flags  for  school-houses,  how  is  the  attention  of  the  legisla- 
ture secured  ?  What  are  the  various  stages  through 
which  the  bill  must  pass  before  it  ean  become  a  law  ? 
Why  should  there  be  so  many  stages  ? 

14.  Give   illustrations   of   the   exercise  of  federal  government, 

state  government,  and  local  government,  in  your  own 
town  or  city.  Of  which  government  do  you  observe  the 
most  signs  ?  Of  which  do  you  observe  the  fewest  signs  ? 
Of  which  government  do  the  officers  seem  most  sensitive 
to  local  opinion  ? 
I5»  Are  the  sessions  of  the  legislature  in  your  state  annual  or 
biennial  ?     What  is  the  argument  for  each  system  ? 

For  answers  to  numbers  16,  17,  18,  and  19,  consult  the  public 
statutes,  a  lawyer,  or  some  intelligent  business  man.  A  fair 
idea  of  the  successive  steps  in  the  courts  may  be  obtained  from 
a  good  unabridged  dictionary  by  looking  up  the  technical  terms 
employed  in  these  questions. 

16-  What  is  the  difference  between  a  civil  action  and  a  criminal  ? 
a.  In  respect  to  the  object  to  be  gained  in  each  ? 


184  THE   STATE. 

h.  In  respect  to  the  party  that  is  the  plaintifF  ? 
c.  In  resj)ect  to  the  consequences  to  the  defendant  if  the  case 
goes  against  him  ? 

17.  Give  an  outline  of  the  procedure  in  a  minor  criminal  action 

that  is  tried  without  a  jury  in  a  lower  court.  Consider 
(1)  the  complaint,  (2)  the  warrant,  (3)  the  return,  (4) 
the  recognizance,  (5)  the  subpcena,  (6)  the  arraignment, 
(7)  the  plea,  (8)  the  testimony,  (9)  the  arguments,  (10) 
the  judgment  and  sentence,  and  (11)  the  penalty  and  its 
enforcement.  What  is  an  appeal  ?  —  This  procedure 
seems  cumbrous,  but  it  is  founded  in  common  sense. 
What  one  of  the  foregoing  steps,  for  example,  would  you 
omit  ?     Why  ? 

18.  Give  an  outline  of  the  procedure  in  a  criminal  action  that  is 

tried  with  a  jury  in  a  higher  court.  The  action  is  begun 
in  a  lower  court  where  the  first  five  stages  are  the  same 
as  in  number  17.  Then  follow  (6)  the  examination  of 
witnesses,  (7)  the  binding  over  of  the  accused  to  appear 
before  the  higher  court  for  trial,  (8)  the  sending  of  the 
complaint  and  the  proceedings  thereon  to  the  district  or 
county  attorney,  (9)  the  indictment,  (10)  the  action  of 
the  grand  jury  upon  the  indictment,  (11)  the  challenging 
of  jurors  before  the  trial,  (12)  the  arraignment,  (13)  the 
plea,  (14)  the  testimony,  (15)  the  arguments,  (16)  the 
charge  to  the  jury,  (17)  the  verdict,  and  (18)  the  sen- 
tence, with  its  penalty  and  the  enforcement  of  it.  What 
are  "  exceptions  ?  "  —  Why  should  there  be  a  jury  in  the 
higher  court  when  there  is  none  in  the  lower  ?  What  is 
the  objection  to  dispensing  with  any  one  of  the  foregoing 
steps  ?  Does  this  machinery  make  it  difficult  to  punish 
crime  ?  Why  should  an  accused  person  receive  so  much 
consideration  ? 

19.  Give  an  outline  of  the  procedure  in  a  minor  civil  action. 

Consider  (1)  the  writ,  (2)  the  attachment,  (3)  the  sum- 
mons to  the  defendant,  (4)  the  return,  (5)  the  pleading, 
(6)  the  testimony,  (7)  the  arguments,  (8)  the  judgment 
or  decision  of  the  judge,  and  (9)  the  execution.  —  If  the 
action  is  conducted  in  a  higher  court,  then  a  jury  decides 
the  question  at  issue,  the  judge  instructing  the  jurors  in 
points  of  law. 

20.  Suppose  an  innocent  man  is  tried  for  an  alleged  crime  and 

acquitted,  has  he  any  redress  ? 


THE  STATE   GOVERNMENTS.  185 

21.  Is  the  enforcement  of  law  complete  and  satisfactory  in  your 

community  ? 

22.  What  is  your  opinion  of  the  general  security  of  person  and 

property  in  your  community  ? 

23.  Is  there  any  connection  between  public  sentiment  about  a 

law  and  the  enforcement  of  that  law  ?     If  so,  what  is  it  ? 

24.  Any  one  of  the  twelve  subjects  of  legislation  cited  on  page 

177  may  be  taken  as  a  special  topic.  Consult  any  mod- 
ern history  of  England. 

25.  Which  do  you  regard  as  the  more  important  possession  for 

the  citizen,  —  an  acquaintance  with  the  principles  and  de- 
tails of  government  and  law,  or  a  law-abiding  and  law- 
supporting  spirit  ?  What  reasons  have  you  for  your  opin- 
ion ?  Where  is  your  sympathy  in  times  of  disorder,  with 
those  who  defy  the  law  or  with  those  who  seek  to  enforce 
it  ?  (Suppose  a  case  in  which  you  do  not  approve  the 
law,  and  then  answer.) 

26.  May  you  ever  become  an  officer  of  the  law  ?     Would  you  as 

a  citizen  be  justified  in  withholding  from  an  officer  that 
obedience  and  moral  support  which  you  as  an  officer 
might  justly  demand  from  every  citizen  ? 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTE. 


The  State.  — For  the  founding  of  the  several  colonies,  their 
charters,  etc.,  the  student  may  profitably  consult  the  learned 
monograjjhs  in  Winsor's  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of 
America,  8  vols.,  Boston,  1886-89.  A  popular  account,  quite 
full  in  details,  is  given  in  Lodge's  Short  History  of  the  English 
Colonies  in  America,  N.  Y.,  1881.  There  is  a  fairly  good  account 
of  the  revision  and  transformation  of  the  colonial  governments 
in  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  final  edition,  N.  Y., 
1886,  vol.  V.  pp.  111-125. 

The  series  of  "  American  Commonwealths,"  edited  by  H.  E. 
Scudder,  and  published  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  will  be 
found  helpful.  The  following  have  been  published  :  Johnston, 
Connecticut :  a  Study  of  a  Commonwealth-Democracy,  1887 ; 
Roberts,  New  York :  the  Planting  and  Growth  of  the  Empire 
State,  2  vols.,  1887;  Browne,  Maryland :  the  History  of  a  Palati- 


186  THE  STATE. 

note,  2d  eel.,  1884  ;  Cooke,  Virginia :  a  History  of  the  People, 
1883  ;  Shaler,  Kentucky :  a  Pioneer  Commonwealth,  1884  ;  King, 
Ohio :  First  Fruits  of  the  Ordinance  of  llSl ,  1888  ;  Dunn,  Indiana  : 
a  Redemption  f-om  Slavery,  1888  ;  Cooley,  Michigan  :  a  History  of 
Governments,  1885  ;  Carr,  Missouri:  a  Bone  of  Contention,  1888  ; 
Spring,  Kansas :  the  Prelude  to  the  War  for  the  Union,  1885  ; 
Royce,  California :  a  Study  of  A  merican  Character,  1886  ;  Bar- 
rows, Oregon  :  the  Struggle  for  Possession,  1883. 

In  connection  with  the  questions  on  page  183,  the  student  is 
advised  to  consult  Dole's  Talks  about  Law:  a  Popular  Statement 
of  What  our  Law  is  and  How  it  is  Administered,  Boston,  1887. 
This  book  deserves  high  praise.  In  a  very  easy  and  attractive 
way  it  gives  an  account  of  such  facts  and  principles  of  law  as 
ought  to  be  familiarly  understood  by  every  man  and  woman. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

WRITTEN   CONSTITUTIONS. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  preceding  chapter  ^  I  spoke 
of  three  points  especially  characteristic  of  the  American 
state,  and  I  went  on  to  mention  two  of  them.  The 
third  point  which  I  had  in  mind  is  so  remarkable  and 
important  as  to  require  a  chapter  all  to  itself.  In  the 
American  state  the  legislature  is  not  supreme,  in  ti,e 
but  has  limits  to  its  authority  prescribed  by  ^tate'thereis 
a  written  document,  known  as  the  Constitu-  above  tL 
tion ;  and  if  the  legislature  happens  to  pass  legislature. 
a  law  which  violates  the  constitution,  then  whenever 
a  specific  case  happens  to  arise  in  which  this  statute 
is  involved,  it  can  be  brought  before  the  courts,  and 
the  decision  of  the  court,  if  adverse  to  the  statute, 
annuls  it  and  renders  it  of  no  effect.  The  impor- 
tance of  this  feature  of  civil  government  in  the  United 
States  can  hardly  be  overrated.  It  marks  a  momentous 
advance  in  civilization,  and  it  is  especially  interesting 
as  being  peculiarly  American.  Almost  everything 
else  in  our  fundamental  institutions  was  bi'ought  by 
our  forefathers  in  a  more  or  less  highly  developed 
condition  from  England  ;  but  the  development  of  the 
written  constitution,  with  the  consequent  relation  of 
the  courts  to  the  law-making  power,  has  gone  on  en- 
tirely upon  American  soil. 

1  See  above,  p.  172. 


188  WRITTEN   CONSTITUTIONS. 

The  germs  of  the  written  constitution  existed  a 
great  while  ago.  Perhaps  it  would  not  be  easy  to  say 
just  when  they  began  to  exist.  It  was  formerly  sup- 
posed by  such  profound  thinkers  as  Locke  and  such 
Germs  of  the  persuasivc  wiutcrs  as  Rousseau,  that  when 
wr^ten^con-  ^^  ^^"^^  men  camc  together  to  live  in  civil 
stitution.  society,  they  made  a  sort  of  contract  with 
one  another  as  to  what  laws  they  would  have,  what 
beliefs  they  would  entertain,  what  customs  they  would 
sanction,  and  so  forth.  This  theory  of  the  Social 
Contract  was  once  famous,  and  exerted  a  notable  in- 
fluence on  political  history,  and  it  is  still  interesting 
in  the  same  way  that  spinning-wheels  and  wooden 
frigates  and  powdered  wigs  are  interesting  ;  but  we 
now  know  that  men  lived  in  civil  society,  with  com- 
plicated laws  and  customs  and  creeds,  for  many 
thousand  years  before  the  notion  had  ever  entered 
anybody's  head  that  things  could  be  regulated  by 
contract.  That  notion  we  owe  chiefly  to  the  ancient 
Ourindebt-  Romaus,  and  it  took  them  several  centuries 
aucfent^Ro-''  ^^  Comprehend  the  idea  and  put  it  into  prac- 
™''"^'  tice.     We  owe  them  a  debt  of  gratitude  for 

it.  The  custom  of  regulating  business  and  politics 
and  the  affairs  of  life  generally  by  voluntary  but 
binding  agreements  is  something  without  which  we 
moderns  would  not  think  life  worth  living.  It  was 
after  the  Roman  world  —  that  is  to  say,  Christendom, 
for  in  the  Middle  Ages  the  two  terms  were  synony- 
mous—  had  become  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 
idea  of  contract,  that  the  practice  grew  up  of  grant- 
ing written  charters  to  towns,  or  monasteries,  or  other 
corporate  bodies.  The  charter  of  a  mediaeval  town 
was  a  kind  of  written  contract  by  which  the  town  ob- 
tained certain  specified  immunities  or  privileges  from 
the  sovereign  or  from  a  great  feudal  lord,  in  exchange 


WRITTEN  CONSTITUTIONS.  189 

for  some  specified  service  which  often  took  the  form 
of  a  money  payment.  It  was  common  enough  for  a 
town  to  buy  liberty  for  hard  cash,  just  as  a  Mediaeval 
man  might  buy  a  farm.  The  word  charter  ''^^''^^^^ 
originally  meant  simply  a  paper  or  written  document, 
and  it  was  often  applied  to  deeds  for  the  transfer  of 
real  estate.  In  contracts  of  such  importance  papers 
or  parchment  documents  were  drawai  up  and  carefully 
preserved  as  irrefragable  evidences  of  the  transaction. 
And  so,  in  quite  significant  jshrase  the  towns  zealously 
guarded  their  charters  as  the  "title-deeds  of  their 
liberties." 

After  a  while  the  word  charter  was  applied  in  Eng- 
land to  a  particular  document  which  speci 
fied  certain  important  concessions  forcibly  charter" 
wrung  by  the  people  from  a  most  unwilling 
sovereign.  This  document  was  called  Magna  Charta, 
or  the  "  Great  Charter,"  signed  at  Runnymede,  June 
15, 1215,  by  John,  king  of  England.  After  the  king 
had  signed  it  and  gone  away  to  his  room,  he  rolled 
in  a  mad  fury  on  the  floor,  screaming  curses,  and 
gnawing  sticks  and  straw  in  the  impotence  of  his 
wrath.i  Perhaps  it  would  be  straining  words  to  call 
a  transaction  in  which  the  consent  was  so  one-sided 
a  "contract,"  but  the  idea  of  Magna  Charta  was 
derived  from  that  of  the  town  charters  with  which 
people  were  already  familiar.  Thus  a  charter  came 
to  mean  "  a  grant  made  by  the  sovereign  either  to  the 
whole  people  or  to  a  portion  of  them,  securing  to 
them  the  enjoyment  of  certain  rights."  Now  in  legal 
usage  "  a  charter  differs  from  a  constitution  in  this, 
that  the  former  is  granted  by  the  sovereign,  while  the 
latter  is  established  by  the  people  themselves:  both 
are  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land."  ^     The  distinc- 

^  Green,  Hist,  of  the  English  People,  vol.  i.  p.  248. 
2  Bouvier,  Law  Dictionary,  12tli  eel.,  vol.  i.  p.  259. 


190  WRITTEN   CONSTITUTIONS. 

tion  is  admirably  expressed,  but  in  history  it  is  not 
always  easy  to  make  it.  Magna  Charta  was  in  form  a 
grant  by  the  sovereign,  but  it  was  really  drawn  up  by 
the  barons,  who  in  a  certain  sense  represented  the 
English  people  ;  and  established  by  the  people  after  a 
long  struggle  which  was  only  in  its  first  stages  in 
John's  time.  To  some  extent  it  partook  of  the  nature 
of  a  written  constitution. 

Let  us  now  observe  what  happened  early  in  1689, 
after  James  II.  had  fled  from  England.  On  January 
28th  parliament  declared  the  throne  vacant.  Parlia- 
ment then  drew  up  the  "  Declaration  of  Rights,"  a 
document  very  similar  in  purport  to  the  first  eight 
amendments  to  ovir  Federal  Constitution,  and  on  the 
13th  of  February  the  two  houses  offered  the  crown  to 
William  and  Mary  on  condition  of  their  accepting 
this  declaration  of  the  "  true,  ancient,  and  indubitable 
rights  of  the  people  of  this  realm."  The  crown  hav- 
ing been  accepted  on  these  terms,  parliament  in  the 
following  December  enacted  the  famous  "  Bill 

The  "Bill of  ... 

Rights"  of  Rights,"  which  simply  put  their  previous 
declaration  into  the  form  of  a  declaratory 
statute.  The  Bill  of  Rights  was  not  —  even  in  form 
—  a  grant  from  a  sovereign  ;  it  was  an  instrument 
framed  by  the  representatives  of  the  people,  and  with- 
out promising  to  respect  it  William  and  Mary  could 
no  more  have  mounted  the  throne  than  a  president 
of  the  United  States  could  be  inducted  into  office  if 
he  were  to  refuse  to  take  the  prescribed  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  the  Federal  Constitution.  The  Bill  of  Rights 
was  therefore,  strictly  speaking,  a  piece  of  written  con- 
stitution ;  it  was  a  constitution  as  far  as  it  went. 

The  seventeenth  century,  the  age  when  the  build- 
ers of  American  commonwealths  were  coming  from 
England,  was  especially  notable  in  England  for  two 


WRITTEN  CONSTITUTIONS.  191 

things.  One  was  tlie  rapid  growth  of  modern  com- 
mercial occupations  and  habits,  the  other  was  the  tem- 
porary overthrow  of  monarchy,  soon  followed  by  the 
final  subjection  of  the  crown  to  parliament.  Accord- 
ingly the  sphere  of  contract  and  the  sphere  of  popular 
sovereignty  were  enlarged  in  men's  minds,  and  the 
notion  of  a  written  constitution  first  began  to  find  ex- 
pression. The  "  Instrument  of  Government  "  which 
in  1653  created  the  protectorate  of  Oliver  Cromwell 
was  substantially  a  written  constitution,  but  it  ema- 
nated from  a  questionable  authority  and  was  not  rati- 
fied. It  was  drawn  up  by  a  council  of  army  officers ; 
and  "  it  broke  down  because  the  first  parliament  sum- 
moned imder  it  refused  to  acknowledge  its  binding 
force."  ^  The  dissolution  of  this  parliament  accord- 
ingly left  Oliver  absolute  dictator.  In  1656,  when 
it  seemed  so  necessary  to  decide  what  sort  of  Foreshadow- 
government  the  dictatorship  of  Cromwell  American 
was  to  prepare  the  way  for,  Sir  Harry  Vane  Harry^vtne 
proposed  that  a  national  convention  should  '^*'''''^" 
be  called  for  drawing  up  a  wTitten  constitution.^  The 
way  in  which  he  stated  his  case  showed  that  he  had  in 
him  a  prophetic  foreshadowing  of  the  American  idea 
as  it  was  realized  in  1787.  But  Vane's  ideas  were 
too  far  in  advance  of  his  age  to  be  realized  then  in 
England.  Older  ideas,  to  which  men  were  more  ac- 
customed, determined  the  course  of  events  there,  and 
it  was  left  for  Americans  to  create  a  government  by 
means  of  a  written  constitution.     And  when  Amer- 

^  Gardiner,  Constitutional  Documents  of  the  Puritan  Revolution, 
p.  Ix. 

^  See  Hosmer's  Young  Sir  Henry  Vane,  pp.  432-444,  —  one  of 
the  best  books  ever  written  for  tlie  reader  who  wishes  to  under- 
stand the  state  of  mind  among  the  English  people  in  the  crisis 
when  thev  laid  the  foundations  of  tlie  United  States. 


192  WRITTEN  CONSTITUTIONS. 

ican  statesmen  did  so,  they  did  it  without  any  refer- 
ence to  Sir  Harry  Vane.  His  relation  to  the  subject 
has  been  discovered  only  in  later  days,  but  I  mention 
him  here  in  illustration  of  the  way  in  which  great  in- 
stitutions grow.  They  take  shape  when  they  express 
the  opinions  and  wishes  of  a  multitude  of  persons ; 
but  it  often  happens  that  one  or  two  men  of  remark- 
able foresight  had  thought  of  them  long  beforehand. 

In  America  the  first  attempts  at  written  constitu- 
tions were  in  the  fullest  sense  made  by  the  people, 
and  not  through  representatives  but  directly.  In  the 
Mayflower's  cabin,  before  the  Pilgrims  had  landed  on 
Plymouth  rock,  they  subscribed  their  names  to  a  com- 
pact in  which  thev  aOTeed  to  constitute  them- 
flower  com-  sclvcs  luto  a  "  body  politic,  and  to  enact 
such  laws  as  might  be  deemed  best  for  th& 
colony  they  were  about  to  establish  ;  and  they  prom- 
ised "  all  due  submission  and  obedience "  to  such 
laws.  Such  a  compact  is  of  course  too  vague  to  be 
called  a  constitution.  Properly  speaking,  a  written 
constitution  is  a  document  which  defines  the  chai'acter 
and  powers  of  the  government  to  which  its  framers 
are  willing  to  entrust  themselves.  Almost  any  kind 
of  civil  government  might  have  been  framed  under 
the  Mayflower  compact,  but  the  document  is  none  the 
less  interesting  as  an  indication  of  the  temper  of  the 
men  who  subscribed  their  names  to  it. 

The  first  written  constitution  known  to  history  was 
that  by  which  the  republic  of  Connecticut  was  organ- 
ized in  1639.  At  first  the  affairs  of  the  Connecticut 
settlements  had  been  directed  by  a  commission  ap- 
pointed by  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  but 
on  the  14th  of  January,  1639,  all  the  freemen  of  the 
three  river  towns  —  Windsor,  Hartford,  and  Wethers- 
field  —  assembled  at  Hartford,  and  drew  up  a  written 


WRITTEN  CONSTITUTIONS.  193 

constitution,  consisting  of  eleven    articles,    in  wliich 
the  frame    of   government   then   and   there        ^^^^^ 
adopted  was  distinctly  described.    This  docu-  dameutai 

^  ''  Orders     of 

ment,  known  as  the  "  Fundamental  Orders  of  po"nfcticut 
Connecticut,"  created  the  government  under 
which  the  people  of  Connecticut  lived  for  nearly  two 
centuries  before  they  deemed  it  necessary  to  amend 
it.  The  charter  granted  to  Connecticut  by  Charles 
II.  in  1662  was  simply  a  royal  recognition  of  the  gov- 
ernment actually  in  operation  since  the  adoption  of 
the  Fundamental  Orders, 

In  those  colonies  which  had  charters  these  docu- 
ments served,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  purposes  of  a 
written  constitution.  They  limited  the  legislative 
powers  of  the  colonial  assemblies.  The  question 
sometimes  came  up  as  to  whether  some  stat- 

■*  ^  Germinal 

ute  made  by  the  assembly  was  not  in  excess  development 

-1  J  of  the  colo- 

of    the   powers    conferred   by   the    charter,   mai  charter 

•"■      ^  "  ^  ^  toward  the 

This- question    usually  arose    in    connection  modem  state 

^  ,  "^  constitution. 

with  some  particular  law  case,  and  thus  came 
before  the  courts  for  settlement,  —  first  before  the 
courts  of  the  colony  ;  afterwards  it  might  sometimes 
be  carried  on  appeal  before  the  Privy  Council  in  Eng- 
land. If  the  court  decided  that  the  statute  was  in 
transgression  of  the  charter,  the  statute  was  thereby 
annulled.^  The  colonial  legislature,  therefore,  was 
not  a  supreme  body,  even  within  the  colony ;  its  au- 
thority was  restricted  by  the  terms  of  the  charter. 
Thus  the  Americans,  for  more  than  a  century  before 
the  Revolution,  were  familiarized  with  the  idea  of  a 
legislature  as  a  representative  body  acting  within  cer- 
tain limits  prescribed  by  a  WTitten  document.  They 
had  no  knowledge  or  experience  of  a  supreme  legis- 
lative body,  such  as  the  House  of  Commons  has  be- 
^  Bryce,  American  Commonwealth,  vol.  i.  pp.  243,  415. 


194  WRITTEN  CONSTITUTIONS. 

come  since  the  founders  of  American  states  left  Eng- 
land. At  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  when  the  sev- 
eral states  framed  new  governments,  they  simply  put 
a  written  constitution  into  the  position  of  supremacy 
formerly  occupied  by  the  charter.  Instead  of  a  docu- 
ment expressed  in  terms  of  a  royal  grant,  they  adopted 
a  document  expressed  in  terms  of  a  popular  edict.  To 
this  the  legislature  must  conform ;  and  people  were 
already  somewhat  familiar  with  the  method  of  testing 
the  constitutionality  of  a  law  by  getting  the  matter 
brought  before  the  courts.  The  mental  habit  thus 
generated  was  probably  more  important  than  any 
other  single  circumstance  in  enabling  our  Federal 
Union  to  be  formed.  Without  it,  indeed,  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  form  a  durable  union. 

Before  pursuing  this  subject,  we  may  observe  that 

American  state  constitutions  have  altered  very  much 

in  character  since  the  first  part  of  the  present 

Abnormal  ^  ^_         ^  ^ 

development  ccuturv.     Thc  earlier  constitutions  were  con- 

of  the  state  ''  ^  ,         , 

constitution,   fined  to  a  general  outline  of  the  oro-anization 

encroaching  "  _  *-' 

upon  the        of  the  government.     They  did  not  undertake 

provmce  of  '-'  ''  ^ 

the  legisia-     to  make  the  laws,  but  to  prescribe  the  condi- 

ture.  .  .  ^. 

tions  under  which  laws  might  be  made  and 
executed.  Recent  state  constitutions  enter  more  and 
more  boldly  upon  the  general  work  of  legislation.  For 
example,  in  some  states  they  specify  what  kinds  of  prop- 
erty shall  be  exempt  from  seizure  for  debt,  they  make 
regulations  as  to  railroad  freight-charges,  they  prescribe 
sundry  details  of  practice  in  the  courts,  or  they  forbid 
the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors.  Until  recently  such 
subjects  would  have  been  left  to  the  legislatures,  no 
one  would  have  thought  of  putting  them  into  a  consti- 
tution. The  motive  in  so  doing  is  a  wish  to  i)ut  cer- 
tain laws  into  such  a  shape  that  it  will  be  difiicult  to 
repeal  them.     What  a  legislature  sees  fit  to  enact  this 


WRITTEN  CONSTITUTIONS.  195 

year  It  may  see  fit  to  repeal  next  year.  But  amending 
a  state  constitution  is  a  slow  and  cumbrous  process. 
An  amendment  may  be  originated  in  the  legislature, 
where  it  must  secure  more  than  a  mere  majority  — 
perhaps  a  three  fifths  or  two  thirds  vote  —  in  order  to 
pass ;  in  some  states  it  must  be  adopted  by  two  suc- 
cessive legislatures,  perhaps  by  two  thirds  of  one  and 
three  fourths  of  the  next ;  in  some  states  not  more 
than  one  amendment  can  be  brought  before  the  same 
legislature  ;  in  some  it  is  provided  that  amendments 
must  not  be  submitted  to  the  people  oftener  than  once 
in  five  years  ;  and  so  on.  After  the  amendment  has 
at  length  made  its  way  through  the  legislature,  it  must 
be  ratified  by  a  vote  of  the  people  at  the  next  general 
election.  Another  way  to  get  a  constitution  amended 
is  to  call  a  convention  for  that  purpose.  In  order  to 
call  a  convention,  it  is  usually  necessary  to  obtain  a 
two  thirds  vote  in  the  legislature ;  but  in  some  states 
"  the  legislature  is  required  at  stated  intervals  to  sub- 
mit to  the  people  the  question  of  holding  such  a  con- 
vention, as  in  New  Hampshire  every  seven  years ;  in 
Iowa,  every  ten  years ;  in  Michigan,  every  sixteen 
years  ;  in  New  York,  Ohio,  Mar^dand,  and  Virginia, 
every  twenty  years."  ^  A  convention  is  a  rejsresen- 
tative  body  elected  by  the  people  to  meet  at  some 
specified  time  and  place  for  some  specified  purpose, 
and  its  existence  ends  with  the  accomplishment  of  that 
purpose.  It  is  in  this  occasional  character  that  the  con- 
vention differs  from  an  ordinary  legislative  assembly. 
With  such  elaborate  checks  against  hasty  action,  it 
is  to  be  presumed  that  if  a  law  can  be  once  embodied 
in  a  state  constitution,  it  will  be  likely  to  have  some 
permanence.      Moreover,  a  direct  vote  by  the    peo- 

^  See    Heury  Hitchcock's    admirable   mouograph,    American 
State  Constitutions,  p.  19. 


196  WRITTEN   CONSTITUTIONS. 

pie  gives  a  weiglitier  sanction  to  a  law  than  a  vote 
in  the  legislature.  There  is  also,  no  doubt,  a  disposi- 
tion to  distrust  legislatures  and  in  some  measure  do 
their  work  for  them  by  direct  popular  enactment. 
For  such  reasons  some  recent  state  constitutions  have 
come  almost  to  resemble  bodies  of  statutes.  Mr. 
Woodrow  Wilson  suggestively  compares  this  kind  of 
poijular  lec^islation  with   the   Swiss  practice 

1  ^  Ti     n  7  •  CI  T'^e  Swiss 

known  as  the  li  cj  crenel  urn  ;  in  most  or  the   "Referen- 

o      •  •  p      ■>        1       •         dum." 

bwiss  cantons  an  important  act  or  the  legis- 
lature does  not  acquire  the  force  of  law  until  it  has 
been  referred  to  the  people  and  voted  on  by  them. 
"  The  objections  to  the  referendum,^''  says  Mr.  Wilson, 
*'  are,  of  course,  that  it  assumes  a  discriminating  judg- 
ment and  a  fulness  of  information  on  the  part  of  the 
people  touching  questions  of  public  policy  which  they 
do  not  often  possess,  and  that  it  lowers  the  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility on  the  part  of  legislators."  ^  Another  se- 
rious objection  to  our  recent  practice  is  that  it  tends  to 
confuse  the  very  valuable  distinction  between  a  consti- 
tution and  a  body  of  statutes,  to  necessitate  a  frequent 
revision  of  constitutions,  and  to  increase  the  cumbrous- 
ness  of  law-making.  It  would,  however,  be  premature 
at  the  present  time  to  pronounce  confidently  upon  a 
practice  of  such  recent  origin.  It  is  clear  that  its 
tendency  is  extremely  democratic,  and  that  it  implies 
a  high  standard  of  general  intelligence  and  independ- 
ence among  the  people.  If  the  evils  of  the  practice 
are  found  to  outweigh  its  benefits,  it  will  doubtless 
fall  into  disfavour. 

QUESTIONS   ON  THE   TEXT. 

Wliut  is  to  be  said  with  regard  to  the  following  topics  ? 
I .  A  ])ower  above  the  legislature  :  — 
a.  The  constitution. 

1  Wilson,  The  State,  p.  490. 


WRITTEN   CONSTITUTIONS.  197 

b.  The  relation  of  the  courts  to  laws  that  violate  the  consti- 

tution. 

c.  The  importance  of  this  relation. 

d.  The  American  origin  of  the  written  constitution. 

2.  The  germs  of  the  idea  of  a  written  constitution  :  — 

a.  The  theory  of  a  "social  contract." 

b.  The  objection  to  this  theory. 

c.  Roman  origin  of  the  idea  of  contract. 

3.  Mediaeval  charters  :  — 

a.  The  charter  of  a  town. 

b.  The  word  charter. 

c.  Magna  Charta. 

d.  The  difference  between  a  charter  and  a  constitution. 

e.  The  form  of  Magna  Charta  as  contrasted  with  its  essen- 

tial nature. 

4.  Documents  somewhat  resembling  written  constitutions  :  — 

a.  The  Declaration  of  Rights. 

b.  The  Bill  of  Rights. 

5.  The  foreshadowing  of  the  American  idea  of  written  consti- 

tutions :  — 

a.  Two  conditions  especially  notable  in  England  in  the  sev- 

enteenth century. 

b.  The  influence  of  these  conditions  on  popular  views  of  gov- 

ernment. 

c.  The  "  Instrument  of  Government." 

d.  Sir  Harry  Vane's  proposition. 

e.  Why  allude  to  Vane's  scheme  when  nothing  came  of  it  ? 

6.  Early  suggestions  of  written  constitutions  in  America  :  — 

a.  The  compact  on  the  Mayflower. 

b.  Wherein  the  compact  fell  short  of  a  written  constitution. 

c.  The  "  Fundamental  Ordei-s  of  Connecticut." 

7.  The  development  of  the  colonial  charter  into  a  written  con- 

stitution :  — 

a.  The  limitation  of  the  powers  of  colonial  assemblies. 

b.  The  decision  of  questions  relating  to  the  trangression  of  a 

charter  by  a  colonial  legislature. 

c.  The  colonial  assembly  as   contrasted   with   the   House   of 

Commons. 

d.  The  difference  between  the  written  constitution  and  the 

charter  for  which  it  was  substituted. 

e.  The  readiness  of  the  people  to  adopt  written  constitutions. 

8.  The  extensive  development  of    the   written  constitution  iu 

some  states  :  — 


198  WRITTEN  CONSTITUTIONS. 

a.  The  simplicity  of  the  earlier  coustitutious. 

b.  Illustrations  of  the  legislative  tendencies  of  later  consti- 

tutions. 

c.  The  naotive  for  such  extension  of  a  constitution. 

d.  The  difficulty  of  amending  a  constitution. 

e.  The  legislative  method  of  amendment. 

f.  The  convention  method  of  amendment. 

g.  The  presumed  advantage  of  embodying  laws  in  the  consti- 

tution. 
h.  A  comparison  with  the  Swiss  Referendum. 
i.  Objections  to  the  Swiss  Referendum. 
j.  Other  objections  to  the  practice   of  putting  laws  into  the 

constitution. 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS   AND   DIRECTIONS. 

1 .  Do  you  belong  to  any  society  that  has  a  constitution  ?     Has 

the  society  rules  apart  from  the  constitution  ?  Which 
may  be  changed  the  more  readily  ?  Why  not  put  all  the 
rules  into  tlie  constitution  ? 

2.  Read  the  constitution  of  your  state  in  part  or  in  full.     Give 

some  account  of  its  principal  divisions,  of  the  topics  it 
deals  witli,  and  its  magnitude  or  fulness.  Are  there  any 
amendments  ?  If  so,  mention  two  or  three,  and  give  the 
reasons  for  their  adoption.  Is  there  any  declaration  of 
rights  in  it  ?  If  so,  what  are  some  of  the  rights  declared, 
and  whose  are  they  said  to  be  ? 

3.  Where  is  the  original  of  your  state  constitution  kept  ?   Wliat 

sort  of  looking  document  do  you  suppose  it  to  be  ? 
Where  would  you  look  for  a  copy  of  it  ?  If  a  question 
arises  in  any  court  about  the  interpretation  of  the  consti- 
tution, must  the  original  be  produced  to  settle  the  wording 
of  the  document  ? 

4.  Has  any  effort  been  made  in  your  state  to  put  into  the  con- 

stitution matters  that  have  previously  been  subjects  of  leg- 
islative action?  If  so,  give  an  account  of  the  effort,  and 
the  public  attitude  towards  it. 

5.  AVhich  is  preferable, — a  constitution  tliat    commands   the 

approval  of  the  people  as  a  whole  or  that  which  has  the 
support  of  a  dominant  political  party  only  ? 

6.  Supjjose  it  is  your  personal  conviction  that  a  law  is  unconsti- 

tutional, may  you  disregard  it  ?  What  consequences 
might  ensue  from  such  disregard  ? 


WRITTEN   CONSTITUTIONS.  199 

7.  May  people  honestly  and  amicably  differ  about  the  interpre- 

tation of  the  constitution  or  of  a  law,  in  a  particular 
case  ?  If  important  interests  are  dependent  on  the  inter- 
pretation, how  can  the  true  one  be  found  out  ?  Does  a 
lawyer's  opinion  settle  the  interpretation  ?  What  value 
has  such  an  opinion  ?  Where  must  people  go  for  au- 
thoritative and  final  interpretations  of  the  laws?  Can 
they  get  such  interpretations  by  simply  asking  for  them  ? 

8.  The  constitution  of  New  Hampshire  provides  that  when  the 

governor  cannot  discharge  the  duties  of  his  office,  the 
president  of  the  senate  shall  assume  them.  During  the 
severe  sickness  of  a  governor  recently,  the  president  of 
the  senate  hesitated  to  act  in  his  stead  ;  it  was  not  clear  that 
the  situation  was  grave  enough  to  warrant  such  a  course. 
Accordingly  the  attorney-general  of  the  state  brought  an 
action  against  the  president  of  the  senate  for  not  doing 
his  duty  ;  the  court  considered  the  situation,  decided 
against  the  president  of  the  senate,  and  ordered  him  to 
become  acting  governor.  Why  was  this  suit  necessary  ? 
Was  it  conducted  in  a  hostile  spirit  ?  Wherein  did  the 
decision  help  the  state  ?  Wherein  did  it  help  the  de- 
fendant ?  Wherein  may  it  possibly  prove  helpful  in  the 
future  history  of  the  state  ? 

9.  Mention  particular  things  that  the  governor,  the  legislature, 

and  the  judiciary  of  your  state  have  done  or  may  do. 
Then  find  the  section  or  clause  or  wording  in  your  state 
constitution  that  gives  authority  for  each  of  these  things. 
For  example,  read  the  particular  part  tliat  authorizes  your 
legislature  :  — 

a.  To  incorporate  a  city. 

b.  To  compel  children  to  attend  school. 

c.  To  buy  uniforms  for  a  regiment  of  soldiers. 

d.  To  establish  a  death  penalty. 

€.  To  send  a  committee  abroad  to  study  a  system  of  water- 
works. 

10.  Trace  the  authority  of  a  school-teacher,  a  policeman,  a  select- 

man, a  mayor,  or  of  any  public  officer,  back  to  some  part 
of  your  constitution. 

1 1 .  Mention  any  parts  of  your  constitution  that  seem  general 

and  somewhat  indefinite,  and  that  admit,  therefore,  of 
much  freedom  in  interjiretation. 

12.  Show  how  the  people  arc,  in  one  aspect,  subordinate  to  the 

constitution  ;  in  another,  superior  to  it. 


200  WRITTEN   CONSTITUTIONS. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE. 


"Written  Constitutions.  —  Very  little  has  been  written  or 
published  with  reference  to  the  history  of  the  development  of 
the  idea  of  a  written  constitution.  The  student  will  find  some 
suggestive  hints  in  Hannis  Taylor's  Origin  and  Growth  of  the 
English  Constitution,  vol.  i.,  Boston,  1889.  See  Henry  Hitchcock's 
American  State  Constitutions  ;  a  Study  of  their  Growth,  N.  Y.,  1887, 
a  learned  and  valuable  essay.  See  also  J.  H.  U.  Studies,  I.,  xi., 
Alexander  Johnston,  The  Genesis  of  a  New  England  State  (^Con- 
necticut) ;  III.,  ix.-x.,  Horace  Davis,  American  Constitutions  ;  also 
Preston's  Documents  Illustrative  of  American  History,  1606-1863, 
N.  Y.,  1886  ;  Stubbs,  Select  Charters  and  other  Illustrations  of 
English  Constitutional  History,  Oxford,  1870  ;  Gardiner's  Consti- 
tutional Documents  of  the  Puritan  Revolution,  Oxford,  1888. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    FEDERAL    UNION. 

§  1.    Origin  of  the  Federal  Union. 

Having  now  sketched  the  origin  and  nature  of 
written  constitutions,  we  are  prepared  to  understand 
how  by  means  of  such  a  document  the  government  of 
our  Federal  Union  was  called  into  existence.  We 
have  already  described  so  much  of  the  civil  govern- 
ment in  operation  in  the  United  States  that  this  ac- 
count can  be  made  much  more  concise  than  if  we  had 
started  at  the  top  instead  of  the  bottom  and  begun 
to  portray  our  national  government  before  saying  a 
word  about  states  and  counties  and  towns.  Bit  by  bit 
the  general  theorv  of  American  self-government  has 
already  been  set  before  the  reader.  We  have  now  to 
observe,  in  conclusion,  what  a  magnificent  piece  of 
constructive  work  has  been  performed  in  accordance 
with  that  general  theory.  We  have  to  observe  the 
building  up  of  a  vast  empire  out  of  strictly  self-gov- 
erning elements. 

There  was  always  one  important  circumstance  in 
favour  of  the  union  of  the  thirteen  American  colonies 
into  a  federal  nation.  The  inhabitants  were  English  in- 
all  substantially  one  people.  It  is  true  that  airuil^coio- 
in  some  of  the  colonies  there  were  a  good  "'®*" 
many  persons  not  of  English  ancestry,  but  the  Eng- 
lish type   absorbed  and  assimilated  everything  else. 


202  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

All  spoke  the  English  language,  all  had  English  insti- 
tutions. Except  the  development  of  the  written  con- 
stitution, evei-y  bit  of  civil  government  described  in 
the  preceding  pages  came  to  America  directly  from 
England,  and  not  a  bit  of  it  from  any  other  country, 
unless  by  being  first  filtered  through  England.  Our 
institutions  were  as  English  as  our  speech.  It  was 
therefore  comparatively  easy  for  people  in  one  colony 
to  understand  people  in  another,  not  only  as  to  their 
words  but  as  to  their  political  ideas.  Moreover,  dur- 
ing the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  com- 
mon danger  from  the  aggressive  French  enemy  on  the 
north  and  west  went  far  toward  awakening  in  the 
thirteen  colonies  a  common  interest.  And  after  the 
French  enemy  had  been  removed,  the  assertion  by 
parliament  of  its  alleged  right  to  tax  the  Americans 
threatened  all  the  thirteen  legislatures  at  once,  and 
thus  in  fact  drove  the  colonies  into  a  kind  of  federal 
union. 

Confederations  among  states  have  generally  owed 
their  origin,  in  the  first  instance,  to  military  necessi- 
ties. The  earliest  league  in  America,  among  white 
The  New  pcople  at  Icast,  was  the  confederacy  of  New 
confederacy  England  colouics  formed  in  1643,  chiefly  for 
(1G43-84).  defence  against  the  Indians.  It  was  finally 
dissolved  amid  the  trovibles  of  1G84,  when  the  first 
government  of  Massachusetts  was  overthrown.  Along 
the  Atlantic  coast  the  northern  and  the  southern  col- 
onies were  for  some  time  distinct  groups,  separated 
by  the  unsettled  portion  of  the  central  zone.  The 
settlement  of  Pennsylvania,  beginning  in  1681,  filled 
this  gap  and  made  the  colonies  continuous  from  the 
French  frontier  of  Canada  to  the  Spanish  frontier  of 
Florida.  The  danger  from  France  began  to  be  clearly 
apprehended   after   1689,   and   in    1698    one   of  the 


ORIGIN   OF  THE   FEDERAL    UNION.       203 

earliest  plans  of  union  was  proposed  by  William 
Penn.  In  1754,  just  as  the  final  struggle  with  France 
was  about  to  begin,  there  came  Franklin's  famous 
plan  for  a  permanent  federal  union  ;  and  this  plan 
was  laid  before  a  congress  assembled  at  Albany  con- 
Albany  for  renewing  the  alliances  with  the  ^"'^^^  ^^^^*)" 
Six  Nations.^  Only  seven  colonies  were  rejoresented 
in  this  conj^ress.  Observe  the  word  "  congress."  If 
it  had  been  a  legislative  body  it  would  more  likely 
have  been  called  a  "  parliament."  But  of  course  it 
was  nothing  of  the  sort.  It  was  a  diplomatic  body, 
composed  of  delegates  representing  state  governments, 
like  European  congresses,  —  like  the  Congress  of 
Berlin,  for  example,  which  tried  to  adjust  the  Eastern 
Question  in  1878.  Eleven  years  after  the 
Albany  Congress,  upon  the  news  that  parlia-  congress 
ment  had  passed  the  Stamp  Act,  a  congress 
of  nine  colonies  assembled  at  New  York  in  October, 
1765,  to  take  action  thereon. 

Nine  years  elapsed  without  another  congress.    Mean- 
while the  political  excitement,  with  occasional  lulls,  went 
on  increasing,  and  some  sort  of  cooperation  between  the 
colonial  governments  became  habitual.    In  1768,  after 
parliament  had  passed  the  Townshend  revenue  acts, 
there  was  no  congress,  but  Massachusetts  sent  a  circu- 
lar letter  to  the  other  colonies,  inviting  them  to  co- 
operate in  measures  of  resistance,  and  the  committees 
other   colonies   responded    favourably.       In  spondJnce 
1772,  as  we  have  seen,  committees  of  corre-  <^"2-75). 
spondence  between  the  towns  of  Massachusetts  acted 
as  a  sort  of  pro\asional  government  for  the  common- 
wealth.    In  1773  Dabney  Carr,  of  Virginia,  enlarged 

1  Franklin's  plan  was  afterward  submitted  to  the  several  leg- 
islatures of  the  colonies,  and  was  everywhere  rejected  because 
the  need  for  union  was  nowhere  strongly  felt  by  the  people. 


204  THE   FEDERAL    UNION. 

upon  this  idea,  and  committees  of  correspondence  were 
forthwith  instituted  between  the  several  colonies. 
Thus  the  habit  of  acting  in  concert  began  to  be 
formed.  In  1774,  after  parliament  had  passed  an  act 
overthrowing  the  government  of  Massachusetts,  along 
with  other  offensive  measures,  a  congress  assembled 
in  September  at  Philadelphia,  the  city  most  centrally 
situated  as  well  as  the  largest.  If  the  remonstrances 
adopted  at  this  congress  had  been  heeded  bv 

Continental  -l       .    .  °  •' 

Congress       tlic  British  government,  and  peace  had  fol- 

(1774-89).  .     *=  11 

lowed,  this  congress  would  probably  have 
been  as  temporary  an  affair  as  its  predecessors  ;  peojile 
would  probably  have  waited  until  overtaken  by  some 
other  emergency.  But  inasmuch  as  war  followed,  the 
congress  assembled  again  in  May,  1775,  and  there- 
after became  practically  a  permanent  institution  until 
it  died  of  old  age  with  the  year  1788. 

This  congress  was  called  "  continental "  to  distin- 
guish it  from  the  "  provincial  congresses "  held  in 
several  of  the  colonies  at  about  the  same  time.  The 
thirteen  colonies  were  indeed  but  a  narrow  strip  on 
the  edge  of  a  vast  and  in  large  part  vmexplored  conti- 
nent, but  the  word  "  continental  "  was  convenient  for 
distinguishing  between  the  whole  confederacy  and  its 
several  members. 

The  Continental  Congress  began  to  exercise  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  directive  authority  from  the  time  of 
its  first  meeting  in  1774.  Such  authority  as  it  had 
arose  simi^ly  from  the  fact  that  it  represented  an 
agreement  on  the  part  of  the  several  governments  to 
,     pursue  a  certain  line  of  policy.      It  was  a 

Tlie  several      ■•  .  _  . 

Btateswere     diplomatic  and  executive,  but    scarcely  yet 

never  at  any  ^       ^  ,  . 

time  fiover-     a  legislative  body.     Nevertheless  it  was  the 

eign  states.  •    •^■,  i     i        c 

Visible  symbol  of  a  kind  of  union  between 
the  states.     There  never  was  a  time  when  any  one 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  FEDERAL    UNION.       205 

of  the  original  states  exercised  singly  the  full  pow- 
ers of  sovereignty.  Not  one  of  them  was  ever  a  small 
sovereign  state  like  Denmark  or  Portugal.  As  they 
acted  together  under  the  common  direction  of  the  Brit- 
ish  government  in  1759,  the  year  of  Quebec,  so  they 
acted  together  under  the  common  direction  of  that 
revolutionary  body,  the  Continental  Congress,  in  1775, 
the  year  of  Bunker  Hill.  In  that  year  a  "  continental 
army  "  was  organized  in  the  name  of  the  "  United 
Colonies."  In  the  following  year,  when  independence 
was  declared,  it  was  done  by  the  concerted  action  of 
all  the  colonies ;  and  at  the  same  time  a  committee 
was  appointed  by  Congress  to  draw  up  a  written  con- 
stitution.    This  constitution,  known  as  the 

•         ,,  1        •         1     ''''"'  Articles 

"  Articles  of  Confederation,    was  submitted  of  coufed- 

-^  .  —  —  „  -.  eratiou. 

to  Congress  m  the  autumn  of  1777,  and  was 

sent  to  the  several  states  to  be  ratified.     A  unanimous 

ratification  was  necessary,  and  it  was  not  until  March 

1781,  that   unanimity  was    secured   and   the   articles 

adopted. 

Meanwhile  the  Revolutionary  War  had  advanced 
into  its  last  stages,  having  been  carried  on  from  the 
outset  under  the  general  direction  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  When  reading  about  this  period  of  our 
history,  the  student  must  be  careful  not  to  be  misled 
by  the  name  "  congress  "  into  reasoning  as  if  there 
were  any  resemblance  whatever  between  that  body 
and  the  congress  which  was  created  by  our  Federal 
Constitution.  The  Continental  Cono-ress  was  not  the 
parent  of  our  Federal  Congress ;  the  former  died 
without  offspring,  and  the  latter  had  a  very  different 
origin,  as  we  shall  soon  see.  The  former  simply  be- 
queathed to  the  latter  a  name,  that  was  all. 

The  Continental  Congress  was  an  assembly  of  dele- 
gates from  the  thirteen  states,  which  from   1774  to 


206  THE   FEDERAL    UNION. 

1783  held  its  sessions  at  Philadelphia.^  It  owned 
Nature  and  "^  federal  property,  not  even  the  house  in 
0361*!!^  which  it  assembled,  and  after  it  had  been 
Congress.  tumed  out  of  doors  by  a  mob  of  drunken 
soldiers  in  June,  1783,  it  flitted  about  from  place  to 
place,  sitting  now  at  Trenton,  now  at  Annapolis,  and 
finally  at  New  York.^  Each  state  sent  to  it  as  many 
delegates  as  it  chose,  though  after  the  adoption  of  the 
articles  no  state  could  send  less  than  two  or  more  than 
seven.  Each  state  had  one  vote,  and  it  took  nine 
votes,  or  two  thirds  of  the  whole,  to  carry  any  meas- 
ure of  importance.  One  of  the  delegates  was  chosen 
president  or  chairman  of  the  congress,  and  this  posi- 
tion was  one  of  great  dignity  and  considerable  influ- 
ence, but  it  was  not  essentially  different  from  the  posi- 
tion of  any  of  the  other  delegates.  There  were  no 
distinct  executive  officers.  Important  executive  mat- 
ters were  at  first  assigned  to  committees,  such  as  the 
Finance  Committee  and  the  Board  of  War,  though  at 
the  most  trying  time  the  finance  committee  was  a  com- 
mittee of  one,  in  the  person  of  Robert  Morris,  who  was 
commonly  called  the  Financier.  The  work  of  the 
finance  committee  was  chiefly  trying  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem of  paying  bills  without  spending  money,  for  there 
was  seldom  any  money  to  spend.  Congress  could  not 
tax  the  people  or  recruit  the  army.  When  it  wanted 
money  or  troops,  it  could  only  ask  the  state  govern- 
ments for  them  ;  and  generally  it  got  from  a  fifth  to 
a  fourth  part  of  the  troops  needed,  but  of  money  a  far 

^  Except  for  a  few  days  in  December,  1776,  when  it  fled  to 
Baltimore  ;  and  again  from  September,  1777,  to  June,  1778, 
when  Phihidelphia  was  in  possession  of  the  British  ;  during  that 
interval  Congress  held  its  meetings  at  York  in  Pennsylvania. 

2  See  my  Critical  Period  of  American  History,  pp.  112,  271, 
30G. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  FEDERAL    UNION.       207 

smaller  proportion.  Sometimes  it  borrowed  money 
from  Holland  or  France,  but  often  its  only  resource 
was  to  issue  paper  promises  to  pay,  or  the  so-called 
Continental  paper  money.  There  were  no  federal 
courts,^  nor  marshals  to  execute  federal  decrees.  Con- 
gress might  issue  orders,  but  it  had  no  means  of  com- 
pelling obedience. 

The  Continental  Congress  was  therefore  not  in  the 
full  sense  a  sovereign  body.  A  government  is  not 
really  a  government  until  it  can  impose  taxes  and  thus 
command  the  money  needful  for  keeping  it  j^  ^.^s  not 
in  existence.  Nevertheless  the  Congress  ex-  dow^edwitii 
ercised  some  of  the  most  indisputable  func-  sovereignty. 
tions  of  sovereignty.  "  It  declared  the  independence 
of  the  United  States ;  it  contracted  an  ojEfensive  and 
defensive  alliance  with  France  ;  it  raised  and  organ- 
ized a  Continental  army  ;  it  borrowed  large  sums  of 
money,  and  pledged  what  the  lenders  understood  to 
be  the  national  credit  for  their  repayment ;  it  issued 
an  inconvertible  paper  currency,  granted  letters  of 
marque,  and  built  a  navy."  ^  Finally  it  ratified  a 
treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain.  So  that  the  Con- 
gress was  really,  in  many  respects,  and  in  the  eyes  of 
the  world  at  large,  a  sovereign  body.  Time  soon 
showed  that  the  continued  exercise  of  such  powers 
was  not  compatible  with  the  absence  of  the  power  to 
tax  the  people.  In  truth  the  situation  of  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  was  an  illogical  situation.  In  the  ef- 
fort of  throwing  off  the  sovereignty  of  Great  Britain, 
the  people  of  these  states  were  constructing  a  federal 
union  faster  than  they  realized.     Their  theory  of  the 

1  Except  the  "  Court  of  Appeals  in  Cases  of  Capture,"  for  an 
admirable  account  of  which  see  Jameson's  Essays  in  the  Consti- 
tutional History  of  the  United  States,  pp.  1-45. 

2  Critical  Period,  p.  93. 


208  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

situation  did  not  keep  pace  with  the  facts,  and  their 
first  attempt  to  embody  their  theory,  in  the  Articles 
of  Confederation,  was  not  unnaturally  a  failure. 

At  first  the  powers  of  the  Congress  were  vague. 
They  were  what  are  called  "  implied  war  powers  ; " 
that  is  to  say,  the  Congress  had  a  war  with  Great 
Britain  on  its  hands,  and  must  be  supposed  to  have 
power  to  do  whatever  was  necessary  to  bring  the  war 
to  a  successful  conclusion.  At  first,  too,  when  it  had 
only  begun  to  issue  paper  money,  there  was  a  momen- 
tary feeling  of  prosperity.  Military  success  added  to 
its  appeai'ance  of  strength,  and  the  reputation  of  the 
Congress  reached  its  high  water  mark  early  in  1778, 
after  the  capture  of  Burgoyne's  army  and  the  mak- 
ing of  the  alliance  with  France.  After  that  time, 
with  the  weary  prolonging  of  the  war,  the  increase  of 
Decline  of  ^hc  public  debt,  and  the  collapse  of  the  pa- 
nentaTc'ou-  P^i'  currcucy,  its  reputation  steadily  declined. 
gress.  There  was  also  much  work  to  be  done  in  re- 

organizing the  state  governments,  and  this  kept  at 
home  in  the  state  legislatures  many  of  the  ablest  men 
who  would  otherwise  have  been  sent  to  the  Congress. 
Thus  in  point  of  intellectual  capacity  the  latter  body 
was  distinctly  inferior  in  1783  to  what  it  had  been 
when  first  assembled  nine  years  earlier. 

The  arrival  of  peace  did  not  help  the  Congress,  but 
made  matters  worse.  When  the  absolute  necessity  of 
presenting  a  united  front  to  the  common  enemy  was 
removed,  the  weakness  of  the  union  was  shown  in 
many  ways  that  were  alarming.  The  sentiment  of 
union  was  weak.  In  spite  of  the  community  in  lan- 
guage and  institutions,  which  was  so  favourable  to 
union,  the  peo])le  of  the  several  states  had  many  local 
prejudices  which  tended  to  destroy  the  union  in  its  in- 
fancy.    A  man  was  quicker  to  remember  that  he  was 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  FEDERAL    UNION.        209 

a  New  Yorker  or  a  Massachusetts  man  than  that  he 
was  an  American  and  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 
Neighbouring  states  levied  custom-house  duties  against 
one  another,  or  refused  to  admit  into  their  Anarchical 
markets  each  other's  produce,  or  had  quar-  tendencies. 
rels  about  boundaries  which  went  to  the  verge  of  war. 
Things  grew  worse  every  year  until  by  the  autumn 
of  1786,  when  the  Congress  was  quite  bankrupt  and 
most  of  the  states  nearly  so,  when  threats  of  secession 
were  heard  both  in  New  England  and  in  the  South, 
when  there  were  riots  in  several  states  and  Massachu- 
setts was  engaged  in  suppressing  armed  rebellion, 
when  people  in  Europe  were  beginning  to  ask  w^hether 
we  were  more  likely  to  be  seized  upon  by  France  or 
reconquered  piecemeal  by  Great  Britain,  it  came  to  be 
thought  necessary  to  make  some  kind  of  a  change. 

Men  were  most  unwillingly  brought  to  this  conclu- 
sion, because  they  were  used  to  their  state  assemblies 
and  not  afraid  of  them,  but  they  were  afraid  of  in- 
creasing the  powers  of  any  government  superior  to  the 
states,  lest  they  should  thus  create  an  unmanageable 
tyranny.  They  believed  that  even  anarchy,  though  a 
dreadful  evil,  is  not  so  dreadful  as  despotism,  and  for 
this  view  there  is  much  to  be  said.  After  no  end  of 
trouble  a  convention  was  at  length  got  together  at 
Philadelphia  in  May,  1787,  and  after  four  months  of 
work  with  closed  doors,  it  was  able  to  offer 

T-i    1         1   /-I  •        •  ^'*®  Federal 

to  the  country  the  new  x"  ederal  Constitution.   Convention 
Both  in  its  character  and  in  the  work  which 
it  did,  this  Federal  Convention,  over  which  Washing- 
ton presided,  and  of  which  Franklin,  Madison,  and 
Hamilton  were  members,  was  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able deliberative  bodies  kno^vn  to  history. 

We  have  seen  that  the  fundamental  weakness  of 
the  Continental  Congress  lay  in  the  fact  that  it  could 


210  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

not  tax  the  people.  Hence  although  it  could  for  a 
time  exert  other  high  functions  of  sovereignty,  it  could 
only  do  so  while  money  was  supplied  to  it  from  other 
sources  than  taxation  ;  from  contributions  made  by 
the  states  in  answer  to  its  "  requisitions,"  from  foreign 
loans,  and  from  a  paper  currency.  But  such  resources 
could  not  last  long.  It  was  like  a  man's  trying  to  live 
upon  his  own  promissory  notes  and  upon  gifts  and  un- 
secured loans  from  his  friends.  When  the  supply  of 
money  was  exhausted,  the  Congress  soon  found  that 
it  could  no  longer  comport  itself  as  a  sovereign  power  ; 
it  could  not  preserve  order  at  home,  and  the  situation 
abroad  may  be  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  George  III. 
kept  garrisons  in  several  of  our  northwestern  frontier 
towns  and  would  not  send  a  minister  to  the  United 
States.  This  example  shows  that,  among  the  sov- 
ereign powers  of  a  government,  the  power  of  taxation 
is  the  fundamental  one  upon  which  all  the  others  de- 
pend.    Nothing  can  go  on  without  money. 

But  the  people  of  the  several  states  would  never 
consent  to  grant  the  power  of  taxation  to  such  a  body 
as  the  Continental  Congress,  in  which  they  were  not 
represented.  The  Congress  was  not  a  legislature,  but 
a  diplomatic  body ;  it  did  not  represent  the  people, 
but  the  state  governments ;  and  a  large  state  like 
Pennsylvania  had  no  more  weight  in  it  than  a  little 
state  like  Delaware.  If  there  was  to  be  any  central 
assembly  for  the  whole  union,  endowed  with  the 
power  of  taxation,  it  must  be  an  assembly  represent- 
ing the  American  people  just  as  the  assembly  of  a 
single  state  represented  the  peojjle  of  the  state. 

As  soon  as  this  point  became  clear,  it  was  seen  to 
be  necessary  to  throw  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
overboard,  and  construct  a  new  national  government. 
As  was  said  above,  our  Federal  Congress  is  not  de- 


ORIGIN   OF  THE  FEDERAL    UNION.        211 

scended  from  the  Continental  Congress.  Its  parent- 
age is  to  be  sought  in  the  state  legislatures.  Our 
federal  government  was  constructed  after  the  general 
model  of  the  state  governments,  with  some  points 
copied  from  British  usages,  and  some  points  that  were 
original  and  new. 

QUKSTIONS   ox   THE   TEXT. 

1 .  What  are  the  reasons  for  reserving  the  Constitution  of  the 

United  States  for  the  concluding  chapter  ? 

2.  Circumstances  that  favoured  union  of  the  colonies  :  — 
a.  The  origin  of  their  inhabitants. 

h.  All  the  details  of  their  civil  government. 

c.  The  ease  with  which  they  understood  one  another. 

d.  Their  common  dangers,  two  in  particular. 

3.  Earlier  unions  among  the  colonies  :  — 

a.  The  New  England  Confederacy,  —  its  time,  purpose,  and 

duration. 
h.  The  French  danger,  and  plans  to  meet  it. 

c.  The  Albanj'  Congress,  —  its  nature  and  immediate  purpose. 

d.  The  Stamp  Act  Congress. 

4.  Committees  of  correspondence  :  — 

a.  The  circular  letter  of  Massachusetts  in  1768. 
h.  Town  committees  of  correspondence  in  Massachusetts  in 
1772. 

c.  Colonial  committees  of  correspondence  in  1773. 

d.  The  habit  established  through  these  committees. 

5.  The  Continental  Congress  :  — 

a.  The  immediate  causes  that  led  to  it. 

b.  How  it  might  have  been  temporary. 

c.  How  it  became  permanent. 

d.  Its  date,  place  of  meeting,  and  duration. 

e.  Why  "  continental "  as  distinguished  from  "  provincial  ?  " 

f.  The  nature  and  extent  of  its  authority. 

g.  The  states  represented  in  it  never  fully  sovereign. 

6.  Give  an  account  of  the  "  Articles  of  Confederation." 

7.  Distinguish   between   the    Continental    Congress    and    the 

Federal. 

8.  The  powers  of  the  Continental  Congress  :  — 

a.  Its  homelessness  and  wandering. 

b.  Its  delegates  and  their  voting  power. 


212  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

c.  Its  presiding  officer. 

d.  Its  management  of  executive  matters. 

e.  The  finance  committee  and  its  problems. 

f.  The  raising  of  money. 

g.  The  compelling  of  obedience. 

9.  The  Continental  Congress  not  a  sovereign  body  :  — 

a.  The  nature  of  real  government. 

b.  Some  functions  of  sovereignty  exercised  by  the  Congress. 

c.  The  situation  illogical. 

10.  Explain  the  "  implied  war  powers  "  of  the  Congress. 

11.  When  was  the  Congress  at  the  height  of  its  reputation,  and 

why  ? 

12.  Explain  the  decline  in  its  reputation  from  1778  to  1783. 

13.  The  alarming  weakness  of  the  union  after  1783  :  — 
a.  The  effect  of  peace  upon  the  union. 

h.  Local  prejudices. 

c.  State  antagonisms. 

d.  The  gloomy  outlook  in  1786. 

14.  The  Federal  Convention  in  1787  :  — 

a.  The  reluctance  to  make  the  change  that  was  felt  to  be 

needed. 
h.  Some  facts  about  the  Convention. 

c.  The  character  of  its  delegates. 

d.  The  fundamental  weakness  of  the  Continental  Congress. 

e.  The  fundamental  power  of  a  strong  government. 

f.  The  objection  to  granting  the  power  of  taxation  to  the 

Continental  Congress. 

g.  The  sort  of  assembly  demanded  for  exercising  the  taxing 

power. 
h.  The  model  on  which  the  federal  government  was  built. 

§  2.   The  Federal  Congress. 

The  federal  House  of  Representatives  is  descencled, 

through  the  state  houses  of  representatives,  from  the 

colonial  assemblies.     It  is   an  assembly  representing 

the  whole  population  of  the  country  as  if  it  were  all 

in  one  great  state.     It  is  composed  of  mem- 

The  House  O  i  1  i 

ofiiepresen-  bci's  clioscn  cvcrv  otlior  vcar  by  the  people 

tatives.  ''  .  , 

of  the  states.     Persons  in  any  state  who  are 
qualified  to  vote  for  state  representatives  are  qualified 


THE    FEDERAL   CONGRESS.  213 

to  vote  for  federal  representatives.  This  arrange- 
ment left  the  power  of  regulating  the  suffrage  in  the 
hands  of  the  several  states,  where  it  still  remains,  save 
for  the  restriction  imposed  in  1870  for  the  protection 
of  the  southern  freedmen.  A  candidate  for  election 
to  the  House  of  Representatives  must  be  twenty-five 
years  old,  must  have  been  seven  years  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  must  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  state 
in  which  he  is  chosen. 

As  the  Federal  Congress  is  a  taxing  body,  repre- 
sentatives and  direct  taxes  are  apportioned  among 
the  several  states  according  to  the  same  rule,  that  is, 
according  to  population.  At  this  point  a  difficulty 
arose  in  the  Convention  as  to  whether  slaves  should 
be  counted  as  population.  If  they  were  to  be  counted, 
the  relative  weight  of  the  slave  states  in  all  matters  of 
national  legislation  would  be  much  increased.  The 
northern  states  thought,  with  reason,  that  it  would  be 
unduly   increased.     The   difficulty   was   ad- 

,   ,  .  .  ,  Tlie  three 

iusted  by  a  compromise  accordmg  to  which  fi"i>s  com- 

,,  ■,  ,  ,  ,  promise. 

five  slaves  were  to  be  reckoned  as  three  per- 
sons.    Since  the  abolition  of    slavery  this  provision 
has  become  obsolete,  but  until  1860  it  was  a  very  im- 
portant factor  in  American  history.^ 

In  the  federal  House  of  Representatives  the  great 
states  of  course  have  much  more  weight  than  the 
small  states.  In  1790  the  four  largest  states  had  32 
representatives,  while  the  other  nine  had  only  33. 
The  largest  state,  Virginia,  had  10  representatives  to 
1  from  Delaware.  These  disparities  have  increased. 
In  1880,  out  of  thirty-eight  states  the  nine  largest  had 
a  majority  of  the  house,  and  the  largest  state.  New 
York,  had  34  representatives  to  1  from  Delaware. 

This  feature  of  the  House  of  Representatives  caused 
1  See  my  Critical  Period,  pp.  257-262. 


214  THE  FEDERAL   UNION. 

the  smaller  states  in  the  Convention  to  oppose  the 
whole  scheme  of  constructing  a  new  government. 
They  were  determined  that  great  and  small  states 
should  have  equal  weight  in  Congress.  Their  stead- 
fast opposition  threatened  to  ruin  everything,  when 
fortunately  a  method  of  compromise  was  discovered. 
It  was  intended  that  the  national  legislature,  in  imita- 
tion of  the  state  legislatures,  should  have  an  upper 
house  or  senate  ;  and  at  first  the  advocates  of  a  strong 
national  government  proposed  that  the  senate 
necticut         also  shovdd  represent  population,  thus  differ- 

compromise.     .„  ii-i 

mg  from  the  lower  house  only  m  the  way  in 
which  we  have  seen  that  it  generally  differed  in  the 
several  states.  But  it  happened  that  in  the  state  of 
Connecticut  the  custom  was  peculiar.  There  it  had 
always  been  the  custom  to  elect  the  governor  and 
upper  house  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  whole  people, 
while  for  each  township  there  was  an  equality  of  rep- 
resentation in  the  lower  house.  The  Connecticut  del- 
egates in  the  Convention,  therefore,  being  familiar 
with  a  legislature  in  which  the  two  houses  were  com- 
posed on  different  principles,  suggested  a  compromise. 
Let  the  House  of  Representatives,  they  said,  repre- 
sent the  people,  and  let  the  Senate  represent  the 
states ;  let  all  the  states,  great  and  small,  be  repre- 
sented equally  in  the  federal  Senate.  Such  was  the 
famous  "  Connecticut  Compromise."  Without  it  the 
Convention  would  probably  have  broken  up  without 
accomplishing  anything.  When  it  was  adopted,  half 
the  work  of  making  the  new  government  was  done, 
for  the  small  states,  having  had  their  fears  thus  allayed 
by  the  assurance  that  they  were  to  be  equally  rei)re- 
sented  in  the  Senate,  no  longer  opposed  the  work  but 
cooperated  in  it  most  zealously. 

Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  the  upper  house  of  our 


THE  FEDERAL   COISIGRESS.  215 

national  legislature  is  composed  of  two  senators  from 
each  state.  As  tliey  represent  the  state,  they  are  chosen 
by  its  legislature  and  not  by  the  people  ;  but 
when  they  have  taken  their  seats  in  the  Sen- 
ate they  do  not  vote  by  states,  like  the  delegates  in 
the  Continental  Congi-ess.  On  the  contrary  each  sen- 
ator has  one  vote,  and  the  two  senators  from  the  same 
state  may,  and  often  do,  vote  on  opposite  sides. 

In  accordance  with  the  notion  that  an  upper  house 
should  be  somewhat  less  democratic  than  a  lower 
house,  the  term  of  office  for  senators  was  made  longer 
than  for  representatives.  The  tendency  is  to  make 
the  Senate  respond  more  slowly  to  changes  in  popular 
sentiment,  and  this  is  often  an  advantage.  Popular 
opinion  is  often  veiy  wrong  at  particular  moments, 
but  with  time  it  is  apt  to  correct  its  mistakes.  We 
are  usually  in  more  danger  of  suffering  from  hasty 
legislation  than  from  tai'dy  legislation.  Senators  are 
chosen  for  a  term  of  six  years,  and  one  third  of  the  num- 
ber of  terms  expire  every  second  year,  so  that,  while 
the  whole  Senate  may  be  renewed  by  the  lapse  of  six 
years,  there  is  never  a  "  new  Senate."  The  Senate 
has  thus  a  continuous  existence  and  a  permanent  or- 
ganization ;  whereas  each  House  of  Representatives 
expires  at  the  end  of  its  two  years'  term,  and  is  suc- 
ceeded by  a  "  new  House,"  which  requires  to  be  organ- 
ized by  electing  its  officers,  etc.,  before  proceeding  to 
business.  A  candidate  for  the  senatorship  must  have 
reached  the  age  of  thirty,  must  have  been  nine  years 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  must  be  an  inhab- 
itant of  the  state  which  he  represents. 

The  constitution  leaves  the  times,  places,  and  man- 
ner of  holding  elections  for  senators  and  representa- 
tives to  be  prescribed  in  each  state  by  its  own  legisla- 
ture ;  but  it  gives  to  Congress  the  power  to  alter  such 


216  THE   FEDERAL    UNION. 

regulations,  except  as  to  the  place  of  choosing  sen- 
ators. Here  we  see  a  vestige  of  the  original  theory 
according  to  which  the  Senate  was  to  be  peculiarly  the 
home  of  state  rights. 

In  the  composition  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
the  state  legislatures  play  a  very  important  part.  For 
the  purposes  of  the  election  a  state  is  divided  into  dis- 
tricts corresponding  to  the  number  of  representatives 
the  state  is  entitled  to  send  to  Congress.  These  electo- 
Eiectorai  ^^  distHcts  are  marked  out  by  the  legislature, 
districts.  ^^^  ^Y\Q,  division  is  apt  to  be  made  by  the 
preponderating  party  with  an  unfairness  that  is  at 
once  shameful  and  ridiculous.  The  aim,  of  course,  is 
so  to  lay  out  the  districts  "  as  to  secure  in  the  greatest 
possible  number  of  them  a  majority  for  the  party 
which  conducts  the  operation.  This  is  done  some- 
times by  throwing  the  greatest  possible  number  of 
hostile  voters  into  a  district  which  is  anyhow  certain 
to  be  hostile,  sometimes  by  adding  to  a  district  where 
pai-ties  are  equally  divided  some  place  in  which  the  ma- 
jority of  friendly  voters  is  sufficient  to  turn  the  scale. 
There  is  a  district  in  Mississippi  (the  so-called  Shoe 
String  district)  250  miles  long  by  30  broad,  and  an- 
other in  Pennsylvania  resembling  a  dumb-bell.  .  .  . 
In  Missouri  a  district  has  been  contrived  longer,  if 
measured  along  its  windings,  than  the  state  itself,  into 
which  as  large  a  number  as  possible  of  the  negro 
voters  have  been  thrown."  ^  This  trick  is  called  "  ger- 
"Gerryman-  ryniandcriug,"  froui  Elbridge  Gerry,  of  Mas- 
dermg."  sacliusctts,  wlio  was  vicc  -  president  of  the 
United  States  from  1813  to  1817.  It  seems  to  have 
been  first  devised  in  1788  by  the  enemies  of  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  in  Virginia,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
election  of  James  Madison  to  the  first  Congress,  and 
^  Bryco,  American  CommonweuUh,  vol.  i.  p.  121. 


THE  FEDERAL    CONGRESS. 


217 


fortunately  it  was  unsuccessful.^  It  was  introcluced 
some  years  afterward  into  Massachusetts.  In  1812, 
while  Gerry  was  governor  of  that  state,  the  Republi- 
can legislature  redistributed  the  districts  in  such  wise 
that  the  shapes  of  the  towns  forming  a  single  district 
in  Essex  county  gave  to  the  district  a  somewhat  drag- 


on-like contour.  This  was  indicated  upon  a  map  of 
Massachusetts  which  Benjamin  Russell,  an  ardent 
Federalist  and  editor  of  the  "  Centinel,"  hung  up  over 
the  desk  in  his  office.  The  celebrated  painter,  Gilbert 
Stuart,  coming  into  the  office  one  day  and  observing 
the  uncouth  figure,  added  with  his  pencil  a  head,  wings, 
and  claws,  and  exclaimed,  "  That  will  do  for  a  sala- 
mander !  "  "  Better  say  a  Gerrymander  !  "  growled 
1  Tyler's  Patrick  Henry,  p.  313. 


/ 


218  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 


the  editor ;  and  the  outlandish  name,  thus  duly  coined, 
soon  came  into  general  currency.^ 

When  after  an  increase  in  its  number  of  represen- 
tatives the  state  has  failed  to  redistribute  its  districts, 
the  additional  member  or  members  are  voted  for  upon 
a  general  state  ticket,  and  are  called  "  representatives 
at  large."  There  is  nothing  to  prevent  a  state  from 
electing  all  its  representatives  in  this  way,  if  it  prefers 
to  do  so,  and  it  has  lately  been  done  in  Maine.'^  The 
advantage  of  the  district  system  is  that  the  candidates 
are  likely  to  be  better  known  by  their  neighbours,  but 
The  election  ^^^^  clcctiou  at  large  is  perhaps  more  likely 
at  large.  ^^  sccurc  able  men.  It  is  the  American  cus- 
tom to  nominate  only  residents  of  the  district  as  can- 
didates for  the  House  of  Representatives.  A  citizen 
of  Albany,  for  example,  would  not  be  nominated  for 
the  district  in  which  Buffalo  is  situated.  In  the  Brit- 
ish practice,  on  the  other  hand,  if  an  eminent  man 
cannot  get  a  nomination  in  his  own  county  or  borough, 
there  is  nothing  to  prevent  his  standing  for  any  other 
county  or  borough.  This  system  seems  more  favoura- 
ble to  the  independence  of  the  legislator  than  our 
system.  Some  of  its  advantages  are  obtained  by  the 
election  at  large. 

Congress  must  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year, 
and  the  constitution  appoints  the  first  Monday  in  De- 
Time  of  as-  cember  for  the  time  of  meeting  ;  but  Con- 
eembiing.  gress  Can,  if  worth  while,  enact  a  law  chang- 
ing the  time.     The  established  custom  is  to  hold  the 

^  Winsor's  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  vol.  iii.  p.  212  ;  see 
also  Bryce,  loc.  cit.  The  word  is  soinetiines  incorrectly  pro- 
nounced "  jerrymander."  Mr.  Winsor  observes  that  the  back 
line  of  the  creature's  body  forms  a  profile  caricature  of  Gerry's 
face,  with  the  nose  at  Middleton. 

^  The  difference  is  similar  to  the  difference  between  the  French 
scrutin  d'arrondissement  and  scrutin  de  liste. 


THE  FEDERAL   CONGRESS.  219 

election  for  representatives  upon  the  same  day  as  the 
election  for  president,  the  Tuesday  after  the  first 
Monday  in  November.  As  the  period  of  the  new 
administration  does  not  begin  until  the  fourth  day  of 
the  following  March,  the  new  House  of  Representa- 
tives does  not  assemble  until  the  December  following 
that  date,  unless  the  new  president  should  at  some  ear- 
lier moment  summon  an  extra  session  of  Congress.  It 
thus  happens  that  ordinarily  the  representatives  of  the 
nation  do  not  meet  for  more  than  a  year  after  their 
election ;  and  as  their  business  is  at  least  to  give  legis- 
lative exjoression  to  the  popular  opinion  which  elected 
them,  the  delay  is  in  this  instance  regarded  by  many 
persons  as  inconvenient  and  injudicious. 

Each  house  is  judge  of  the  elections,  qualifications, 
and  returns  of  its  own  members ;  determines  its  own 
rules  of  procedure,  and  may  punish  its  members  for 
disorderly  behaviour,  or  by  a  two  thirds  vote  expel  a 
member.  Absent  members  may  be  compelled  under 
penalties  to  attend.  Each  house  is  required  to  keej}  a 
journal  of  its  proceedings  and  at  proper  intervals  to 
j)ublish  it,  except  such  parts  as  for  reasons  of  public 
policy  had  better  be  kept  secret.  At  the  request  of 
one  fifth  of  the  members  present,  the  yeas  and  nays 
must  be  entered  on  the  journal.  Daring  the  session 
of  Congress  neither  house  may,  without  consent  of 
the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  or  to  any 
other  place  than  that  in  which  Congress  is  sitting. 

Senators  and  representatives  receive  a  salary  fixed 
by  law,  and  as  they  are  federal  functionaries  they  are 
paid  from  the  federal  treasury.  In  all  cases,  except 
treason  or  felony  or  breach  of  the  peace,  they  are 
privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  in  Con- 
gress, as  also  while  on  their  way  to  it  and  while  re- 
turning home ;  "  and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either 


220  THE   FEDERAL    UNION. 

house  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  place." 
Privileges  of  These  provisious  are  reminiscences  of  the 
members.  g^-j  jg^yg  when  the  king  strove  to  interfere, 
by  fair  means  or  foul,  with  free  speech  in  parliament ; 
and  they  are  important  enough  to  be  incorporated  in 
the  supreme  law  of  the  land.  No  person  can  at  the 
same  time  hold  any  civil  office  under  the  United 
States  government  and  be  a  member  of  either  house 
of  Congress. 

The   vice-president  is  the  presiding  officer  of  the 

Senate,  with  power  to  vote  only  in  case  of  a  tie.     The 

House  of  Representatives  elects  its  presiding  officer, 

who  is  called  the  Speaker.     In  the  early  his- 

The  Speaker.  p     i       tt  p  /-(  •  •  t 

tory  01  the  House  oi  Commons,  its  presidmg 
officer  was  naturally  enough  its  spokesman.  He  could 
speak  for  it  in  addressing  the  crown.  Henry  of 
Keighley  thus  addressed  the  crown  in  1301,  and  there 
were  other  instances  during  that  century,  until  in 
1376  the  title  of  Speaker  was  definitely  given  to  Sir 
Thomas  Hungerford,  and  from  that  date  the  list  is  un- 
broken. The  title  was  given  to  the  presiding  officers  of 
the  American  colonial  assemblies,  and  thence  it  passed 
on  to  the  state  and  federal  legislatures.  The  Speaker 
presides  over  the  debates,  puts  the  question,  and  de- 
cides points  of  order.  He  also  appoints  the  commit- 
tees of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  as  the 
initiatory  work  in  our  legislation  is  now  so  largely 
done  by  the  committees,  this  makes  him  the  most  pow- 
erful officer  of  the  government  except  the  President. 
The  provisions  for  impeachment  of  public  officers 
are  copied  from  the  custom  in  England.  Since  the 
fourteenth  century  the  House  of  Commons  has  occa- 
sionally exercised  the  power  of  impeaching  the  king's 
ministers  and  other  high  public  officers,  and  although 
the  power  was  not  used  during  the  sixteenth  century, 


THE  FEDERAL   CONGRESS.  221 

it  was  afterward  revived  and  conclusively  established. 
In  1701  it  was  enacted  that  the  royal  pardon 

TIT  .  .  ■,        Impeach- 

could  not  be  pleaded  against  an  impeach-  mentinEng. 
ment,  and  this  act  finally  secured  the  respon- 
sibility of  the  king's  ministers  to  Parliament.  An 
impeachment  is  a  kind  of  accusation  or  indictment 
brought  against  a  public  officer  by  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. The  court  in  which  the  case  is  tried  is  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  the  ordinary  rides  of  judicial  pro- 
cedure are  followed.  The  regular  president  of  the 
House  of  Lords  is  the  Lord  Chancellor,  who  is  the 
highest  judicial  officer  in  the  kingdom.  A  simple  ma- 
jority vote  secures  conviction,  and  then  it  is  left  for  the 
House  of  Commons  to  say  whether  judgment  shall  be 
pronounced  or  not. 

In  the  United  States  the  House  of  Representatives 
has  the  sole  power  of  impeachment,  and  the  Senate 
has  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments.  When 
the  president  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  impeach- 
the  chief -justice  must  preside.  As  a  precau-  uiTited"  *^* 
tion  against  the  use  of  impeachment  for  ^'^**«s- 
party  purposes,  a  two  thirds  vote  is  required  for  con- 
viction ;  and  this  precaution  proved  effectual  (fortu- 
nately, as  most  persons  now  admit)  in  the  famous 
case  of  President  Johnson  in  1868.  In  case  of  con- 
viction the  judgment  cannot  extend  further  than  "  to 
removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and 
enjoy  any  office  of  honour,  trust,  or  profit  under  the 
United  States  ;  "  but  the  person  convicted  is  liable 
afterward  to  be  tried  and  punished  by  the  ordinary 
process  of  law. 

The  provisions  of  the  Constitution  for  legislation 
are  admirably  simple.  AU  bills  for  raising  revenue 
must  originate  in  the  lower  house,  but  the  upper 
house  may  propose  or   concur  with   amendments,  as 


222  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

on  other  bills.  This  provision  was  inherited  from 
Parliament,  through  the  colonial  legislatures.  After 
a  bill  has  passed  both  houses  it  must  be  sent  to  the 
president  for  approval.  If  he  approves  it,  he  signs 
it;  if  not,  he  returns  it  to  the  house  in  which  it 
originated,  with  a  written  statement  of  his 

Veto  power         ...  i      i  • 

of  the  pres-    obicctions,  and  this  statement  must  be  en- 

ident  . 

tered  in  full  upon  the  journal  of  the  house. 
The  bill  is  then  reconsidered,  and  if  it  obtains  a  two 
thirds  vote,  it  is  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to 
the  other  house.  If  it  there  likewise  obtains  a  two 
thirds  vote,  it  becomes  a  law,  in  spite  of  the  objec- 
tions. Otherwise  it  fails.  If  the  president  keeps  a 
bill  longer  than  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  with- 
out signing  it,  it  becomes  a  law  without  his  signa- 
ture ;  unless  Congress  adjourns  before  the  expiration 
of  the  ten  days,  in  which  case  it  fails  to  become  a  law, 
just  as  if  it  had  been  vetoed.  This  method  of  vetoing 
a  bill  just  before  the  expiration  of  a  Congress,  by 
keeping  it  in  one's  pocket,  so  to  speak,  was  dubbed  a 
"  pocket  veto,"  and  was  first  employed  by  President 
Jackson  in  1829.  The  president's  veto  power  is  a 
qualified  form  of  that  which  formerly  belonged  to  the 
English  sovereign  but  has  now,  as  already  observed, 
become  practically  obsolete.  As  a  means  of  guarding 
the  country  against  unwise  legislation,  it  has  proved 
to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable  features  of  our  Federal 
Constitution.  In  bad  hands  it  cannot  do  much  harm  ; 
it  can  only  delay  for  a  short  time  a  needed  law.  But 
when  properly  used  it  can  save  the  country  from  laws 
that  if  once  enacted  would  sow  seeds  of  disaster  very 
hard  to  eradicate  ;  and  it  has  repeatedly  done  so.  A 
single  man  will  often  act  intelligently  where  a  group 
of  men  act  foolishly,  and,  as  already  observed,  he  is 
apt  to  have  a  keener  sense  of  responsibility. 


THE  FEDERAL    CONGRESS.  223 

QUESTIONS    ON    THE    TEXT. 

What  is  to  be  said  with  regard  to  the  following  topics  ? 

1.  The  House  of  Representatives  :  — 
a.  Its  relation  to  the  people. 

h.  The  term  of  service. 

c.  Qualifications   of    those   who   may  vote   for  representa- 

tives. 

d.  Qualifications  for  membership. 

e.  The  three  fifths  compromise. 

2.  The  Connecticut  Compromise. 

a.  The  powers  of  the  different  states  in  the  House. 

b.  Opposition  to  the  scheme  of  a  new  government. 

c.  What  the  advocates  of  a  strong  government  wanted  the 

Senate  to  represent. 

d.  A  peculiar  Connecticut  system. 

e.  The  suggestion  of  the  Connecticut  delegates. 

f.  The  effect  of  the  compromise. 

3.  The  Senate  :  — 

a.  The  number  of  senators. 

h.  The  method  of  electing  senators. 

c.  The  voting  of  senators. 

d.  The  term  of  service. 

e.  The  maintenance  of  a  continuous  existence. 

/.  A  comparison  with  the  House  in  respect  to  nearness  to  the 
people. 

g.  Qualifications  for  membership. 

4.  Elections  for  senators  and  representatives  :  — 

a.  Times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections. 

b.  The  power  of  Congress  over  state  regulations. 

c.  Electoral  districts. 

d.  The  temptation  to  unfairness  in  laying  out  electoral  dis- 

tricts. 

e.  Illustrations  of  unfair  divisions. 
f.  "Gerrymandering." 

g.  Representatives  at  large. 

h.  The  advantage  of  the  district  system. 

i.  The  British  system  and  its  advantage. 

5.  Tlie  assembling  of  Congress  :  — 

a.  The  time  of  assembling. 

b.  The  interval  between  a  member's  election  and  the  begin- 

ning of  his  service. 


224  THE  FEDERAL  UNION. 

c.  The  cTisadvantage  of  this  long  interval. 

6.  What  is  the  duty  of  each  house  in  respect  (1)  to  its  member- 

ship, (2)  its  rules,  (3)  its  records,  and  (4)  its  adjourn- 
ment. 

7.  Give  an  account  (1)  of  the  i^ay  of  a  congressman,  (2)  of 

his  freedom  from  arrest,  (3)  of  his  responsibility  for 
words  spoken  in  debate,  and  (4)  of  his  right  to  hold 
other  office. 

8.  Tell  (1)  who  preside  in  Congress,  (2)  how  the  name  speaker 

originated,  (3)  what  the  speaker's  duties  are,  and  (4) 
what  his  power  in  the  government  is. 

9.  Impeachment  of  public  officers  :  — 

a.  Old  English  usage. 

b.  The  conduct  of  an  impeachment  trial  in  England. 

c.  The  conduct  of  an  impeachment  trial  in  the  United  States. 

d.  The  penalty  in  case  of  conviction. 

10.  The  provisions  of  the  Constitution  for  legislation  :  — 
a.  Bills  for  raising  revenue. 
h.  How  a  bill  becomes  a  law. 

c.  The  president's  veto  power. 

d.  Passage  of  a  bill  over  the  president's  veto. 

e.  The  "  pocket  veto." 

f.  The  veto  power  in  England. 

g.  The  value  of  the  veto  power. 


§  3.   The  Federal  Executive. 

In  signing  or  vetoing  bills  passed  by  Congress  the 
president  shares  in  legislation,  and  is  virtually  a  third 
house.  In  his  other  capacities  he  is  the  chief  executive 
officer  of  the  Federal  Union ;  and  inasmuch  as  he 
appoints  the  other  great  executive  officers,  he  is  really 
the  head  of  the  executive  department,  not  —  like  the 
governor  of  a  state  —  a  mere  member  of  it.  His  title 
of  "  President "  is  probably  an  inheritance  from  the 
presidents  of  the  Continental  Congress.     In 

The  title  of       L(  i  t     •,  p  •  •        -irrr^        i         i  i 

"Presi-         I  ranklin  s  plan  of  union,  in  1764,  the  head 

dent."  CI  •  1  n     1 

of    the    executive    department  was    called 
"  Governor  General,"'  but  that  title  had  an  unpleasant 


THE  FEDERAL  EXECUTIVE.  225 

sound  to  American  ears.  Our  great-grandfathers  liked 
"  president "  better,  somewhat  as  the  Romans,  in  the 
eighth  century  of  their  city,  preferred  "  imperator  " 
to  "rex."  Then,  as  it  served  to  distinguish  widely 
between  the  head  of  the  Union  and  the  heads  of  the 
states,  it  soon  fell  into  disuse  in  the  state  governments, 
and  thus  "  president  "  has  come  to  be  a  much  grander 
title  than  "governor,"  just  as  "emperor"  has  come 
to  be  a  grander  title  than  "  king."  ^ 

There  was  no  question  which  perplexed  the 
Federal  Convention  more  than  the  question  as  to  the 
best  method  of  electing  the  president.  There  was  a 
general  distrust  of  popular  election  for  an  office  so 
exalted.  At  one  time  the  Convention  decided  to  have 
the  president  elected  by  Congress,  but  there  was  a 
grave  objection  to  this  ;  it  would  be  likely  to  destroy 
his  independence,  and  make  him  the  tool  of  Congress. 
Finally  the  device  of  an  electoral  college  was  xhe  electoral 
adopted.  Each  state  is  entitled  to  a  number  '=°"*'s^- 
of  electors  equal  to  the  number  of  its  representatives 
in  Congress,  plus  two,  the  number  of  its  senators. 
Thus  to-day  Delaware,  with  1  representative,  has  3 
electors ;  Missouri,  with  14  representatives,  has  16 
electors  ;  New  York,  with  34  representatives,  has  36 
electors.  No  federal  senator  or  representative,  or  any 
person  holding  civil  office  under  the  United  States, 
can  serve  as  an  elector.  Each  state  may  appoint  or 
choose  its  electors  in  such  manner  as  it  sees  fit ;  at 
first  they  were  more  often  than  otherwise  chosen  by 
the  legislatures,  now  they  are  always  elected  by  the 
people.  The  day  of  election  must  be  the  same  in  all 
the  states. 

By  an  act  of  Congress  passed  in  1792  it  is  required 
to  be  within  34  days  preceding  the  first  Wednesday  in 
^  See  above  p.  163. 


226  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

December.  A  subsequent  act  in  1845  ajapointed  the 
Tuesday  following  tbe  first  Monday  in  November  as 
election  day. 

By  the  act  of  1792  the  electors  chosen  in  each  state 
are  required  to  assemble  on  the  first  Wednesday  in 
December  at  some  place  in  the  state  which  is  desig- 
nated by  the  legislature.  Before  this  date  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  state  must  cause  a  certified  list  of  the 
names  of  the  electors  to  be  made  out  in  triplicate  and 
delivered  to  the  electors.  Having  met  together  they 
vote  for  president  and  vice-president,  make  out  a 
sealed  certificate  of  their  vote  in  triplicate,  and  attach 
to  each  copy  a  copy  of  the  certified  list  of  their  names. 
One  copy  must  be  delivered  by  a  messenger  to  the 
president  of  the  Senate  at  the  federal  capital  before 
the  first  Wednesday  in  January ;  the  second  is  sent 
to  the  same  officer  through  the  mail ;  the  third  is  to 
be  deposited  with  the  federal  judge  of  the  district  in 
which  the  electors  meet.  If  by  the  first  Wednesday 
in  January  the  certificate  has  not  been  received  at 
the  federal  capital,  the  secretary  of  state  is  to  send  a 
messenger  to  the  district  judge  and  obtain  the  copy 
deposited  with  him.  The  interval  of  a  month  was 
allowed  to  get  the  returns  in,  for  those  were  not  the 
days  of  railroad  and  telegraph.  The  messengers  were 
allowed  twenty-five  cents  a  mile,  and  were  subject  to 
a  fine  of  a  thousand  doUars  for  neglect  of  duty.  On 
the  second  Wednesday  in  February,  Congress  is  re- 
quired to  be  in  session,  and  the  votes  received  are 
counted  and  the  result  declared. 

At  first  the  electoral  votes  did  not  state  whether 
the  candidates  named  in  them  were  candidates  for  the 
presidency  or  for  the  vice-presidency.  Kach  elector 
simply  wrote  down  two  names,  only  one  of  which 
could  be  the  name  of  a  citizen  of  his  own  state.     In 


THE  FEDERAL   EXECUTIVE.  227 

the  official  count  the  candidate  who  had  the  largest 
number  of  votes,  provided  they  were  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number,  was  declared  president,  and  the 
candidate  who  had  the  next  to  the  largest  number 
was  declared  vice-president.  The  natural  result  of 
this  was  seen  in  the  first  contested  election  in  17 9G, 
which  made  Adams  president,  and  his  antagonist  vice- 
president.  In  the  next  election  in  1800  it  gave  to 
Jefferson  and  his  colleague  Burr  exactly  the  same 
number  of  votes.  In  such  a  case  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives must  elect,  and  such  intrigues  followed 
for  the  purpose  of  defeating  Jefferson  that  the  country 
was  brought  to  the  verge  of  civil  war.  It  thus  became 
necessary  to  change  the  method.  By  the  twelfth  amend>- 
ment  to  the  constitution,  declared  in  force 

'  The  twelfth 

m  1804,  the  present  method  was  adopted,  amendment 
The  electors  make  separate  ballots  for  presi- 
dent and  for  vice-president.  In  the  official  count  the 
votes  for  president  are  first  inspected.  If  no  candi- 
date has  a  majority,  then  the  House  of  Representatives 
must  immediately  choose  the  president  from  the  three 
names  highest  on  the  list.  In  this  choice  the  house 
votes  by  states,  each  state  having  one  vote  ;  a  quorum 
for  this  purpose  must  consist  of  at  least  one  member 
from  two  thirds  of  the  states,  and  a  majority  of  all 
the  states  is  necessary  for  a  choice.  Then  if  no  can- 
didate for  the  vice-presidency  has  a  majority,  the 
Senate  makes  its  choice  from  the  two  names  highest 
on  the  list ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  consists  of  two 
thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  senators,  and  a  majority 
of  the  whole  number  is  necessary  to  a  choice.  Since 
this  amendment  was  made  there  has  been  one  instance 
of  an  election  of  the  president  by  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives,—  that  of  John  Quincy  Adams  in  1825  ; 
and  there  has  been  one  instance  of  an  election  of  the 


228  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

vice-president  by  the  Senate,  —  that  of  Richard  Men- 
tor Johnson  in  1837. 

One  serious  difficulty  was  not  yet  foreseen  and  pro- 
vided for,  —  that  of  deciding  between  two  conflicting 
returns  sent  in  by  two  hostile  sets  of  electors  in  the 
same  state,  each  list  being  certified  by  one  of  two 
rival  governors  claiming  authority  in  the  same  state. 
Such  a  case  occurred  in  1877,  when  Florida,  Louisiana, 
and  South  Carolina  were  the  scene  of  struggles  be- 
tween rival  governments.  Ballots  for  Tilden  and  bal- 
lots for  Hayes  were  sent  in  at  the  same  time  from 
these  states,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  recognized 
means    of     determining    which    ballots    to 

The  electoral  .         .       ^ 

commission    couut,  tlic  two  partics  ill  Cougrcss  submitted 

(1877).  '  .  . 

the  result  to  arbitration.  An  "  electoral 
commission  "  was  created  for  the  occasion,  composed 
of  five  senators,  five  rejireseutatives,  and  five  judges 
of  the  supreme  court ;  and  this  body  decided  what 
votes  were  to  be  counted.  It  was  a  clumsy  expedient, 
but  infinitely  preferable  to  civil  war.  The  question 
of  conflicting  returns  has  been  at  length  set  at  rest  by 
the  act  of  1887,  which  provides  that  no  electoral  votes 
can  be  rejected  in  counting  except  by  the  concurrent 
action  of  the  two  houses  of  Congress. 

The  devolution  of  the  presidential  office  in  case  of 
the  president's  death  has  also  been  made  the  subject 
of  legislative  change  and  amendment.  The  office  of 
vice-president  was  created  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of 
meeting  such  an  emergency.  Upon  the  accession  of 
the  vice-president  to  the  presidency,  the  Senate  would 
proceed  to  elect  its  own  president  pro  tempore.  An 
act  of  1791  provided  that  in  case  of  the  death,  resigna- 
Presidentiai  tion,  Or  disability  of  both  president  and  vice- 
succession.  president,  the  succession  should  devolve  first 
upon    the  president  ^^ro  tempore  of    the  Senate  and 


THE  FEDERAL  EXECUTIVE.  229 

then  upon  the  speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, until  the  disability  should  be  removed  or  a  new 
election  be  held.  But  supposing  a  newly  elected 
president  to  die  and  be  succeeded  by  the  vice-presi- 
dent before  the  assembling  of  the  newly  elected  Con- 
gress ;  then  there  would  be  no  president  ^jro  tempore 
of  the  Senate  and  no  speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, and  thus  the  death  of  one  person  might 
cause  the  presidency  to  lapse.  jVIoreover  the  presid- 
ing officers  of  the  two  houses  of  Congress  might  be 
members  of  the  party  defeated  in  the  last  presidential 
election  ;  indeed,  this  is  often  the  case.  Sound  policy 
and  fair  dealing  require  that  a  victorious  party  shall 
not  be  turned  out  because  of  the  death  of  the  presi- 
dent and  vice-president.  Accordingly  an  act  of  1886 
provided  that  in  such  an  event  the  succession  should 
devolve  upon  the  members  of  the  cabinet  in  the  follow- 
ing order :  secretary  of  state,  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
secretary  of  war,  attorney-general,  postmaster-general, 
secretary  of  the  navy,  secretary  of  the  interior.  This 
would  seem  to  be  ample  provision  against  a  lapse. 

To  return  to  the  electoral  college  :  it  was  devised 
as  a  safeguard  against  popular  excitement.  It  was 
supposed  that  the  electors  in  their  December  meeting 
would  calmly  discuss  the  merits  of  the  ablest  men  in 
the  country  and  make  an  intelligent  selection  for  the 
presidency.     The  electors  were  to  use  their 

.  Original  pur- 

own  ludgment,  and  it  was  not  necessary  that   v^^^  of  the 

11       1  1  •  111     electoral  col- 

all  the  electors  chosen  in   one  state   should   i-^genotfui- 

^  ■.  , .  ,  ,-p,,  ,  filled. 

vote  tor  the  same  candidate.  The  people  on 
election  day  were  not  sujiposed  to  be  voting  for  a 
president  but  for  presidential  electors.  This  theory 
was  never  realized.  The  two  elections  of  Washington, 
in  1788  and  1792,  were  unanimous.  In  the  second 
contested  election,  that  of  1800,  the  electors  simply 


230  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

registered  tlie  result  of  the  popular  vote,  and  it  has 
been  so  ever  since.  Immediately  after  the  popular 
election,  a  whole  month  before  the  meeting  of  the 
electoral  college,  we  know  who  is  to  be  the  next  presi- 
dent. There  is  no  law  to  prevent  an  elector  from  vot- 
ing for  a  different  pair  of  candidates  from  those  at  the 
head  of  the  party  ticket,  but  the  custom  has  become 
as  binding  as  a  statute.  The  elector  is  chosen  to  vote 
for  specified  candidates,  and  he  must  do  so. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  not  until  long  after  1800 
that  all  the  electoral  votes  of  the  same  state  were 
necessarily  given  to  the  same  pair  of  candidates.  It 
Electors  "^^^  customary  in  many  states  to  choose  the 
chosJil  m  electors  by  districts.  A  state  entitled  to  ten 
by^dLtrfct?;  elcctors  would  choose  eight  of  them  in  its 
oi?I  general  eight  congrcssioual  districts,  and  there  were 
ticket.  various  ways  of  choosing  the  other  two.     In 

some  of  the  districts  one  party  would  have  a  majority, 
in  others  the  other,  and  so  the  electoral  vote  of  the 
state  would  be  divided  between  two  pairs  of  can- 
didates. Afterwards  it  became  customary  to  choose 
the  electors  upon  a  general  ticket,  and  thus  the  elec- 
toral vote  became  solid  in  each  state.  The  district 
system  fell  generally  into  disuse  after  1830,  but  as 
late  as  1860  the  vote  of  New  Jersey  was  divided  be- 
tween Lincoln  and  Douglas.  Now  the  general  ticket 
system  is  universal. 

This  system,  of  course,  increases  the  chances  of 
electing  presidents  who  have  received  a  minority  of 
Minority  ^^  popular  votc.  A  Candidate  may  carry 
presidents.  ^^^  statc  by  an  immense  majority  and  thus 
gain  6  or  8  electoral  votes ;  he  may  come  within  a 
few  hundred  of  carrying  another  state  and  thus  lose 
3G  electoral  votes.  Or  a  small  third  party  may  divert 
some  tliousands  of  votes  from  the  principal  candidate 


THE  FEDERAL  EXECUTIVE.  231 

without  affecting  the  electoral  vote  of  the  state.  Since 
Washington's  second  term  we  have  had  twenty-three 
contested  elections,^  and  in  nine  of  these  the  elected 
president  has  failed  to  receive  a  majority  of  the  popu- 
lar vote  ;  Adams  in  1824  (elected  by  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives), Polk  in  1844,  Taylor  in  1848,  Buchanan 
in  1856,  Lincoln  in  1860,  Hayes  in  1876,  Garfield  in 
1880,  Cleveland  in  1884,  Harrison  in  1888.  This 
has  suggested  more  or  less  vague  speculation  as  to  the 
advisableness  of  changing  the  method  of  electing  the 
president.  It  has  been  suggested  that  it  would  be 
well  to  abolish  the  electoral  coUege,  and  resort  to  a 
direct  popular  vote,  without  reference  to  state  lines. 
Such  a  method  woidd  be  open  to  one  serious  objec- 
tion. In  a  closely  contested  election  on  the  present 
method  the  result  may  remain  doubtful  for  three  or 
four  days,  while  a  narrow  majority  of  a  few  Advantages 
hundred  votes  in  some  great  state  is  being  eL^orai 
ascertained  by  careful  counting.  It  was  so  ^y^*®™- 
in  1884.  This  period  of  doubt  is. sure  to  be  a  period 
of  intense  and  dangerous  excitement.  In  an  election 
without  reference  to  states,  the  result  would  more 
often  be  doubtfid,  and  it  would  be  sometimes  neces- 
sary to  count  every  vote  in  every  little  out-of-the-way 
corner  of  the  country  before  the  question  could  be 
settled.  The  occasions  for  dispute  would  be  multi- 
plied a  hundred  fold,  with  most  demoralizing  effect. 
Our  present  method  is  doubtless  clumsy,  but  the 
solidity  of  the  electoral  colleges  is  a  safeguard,  and  as 
all  parties  understand  the  system  it  is  in  the  long  run 
as  fair  for  one  as  for  another. 

The  Constitution  says  nothing  about  the  method  of 
nominating  candidates  for  the  presidency,  neither  has 

^  All  have  been  contested,  except  Monroe's  reelection  in  1820, 
when  there  was  no  opposing'  candidate. 


232  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

it  been  made  the  subject  of  legislation.  It  has  been 
determined  by  convenience.  It  was  not  necessary  to 
nominate  Washington,  and  the  candidacies  of  Adams 
and  Jefferson  were  also  matters  of  general  under- 
standing. In  1800  the  Republican  and  Federalist 
members  of  Congress  respectively  held  secret  meet- 
Nomination  i^to^  ^r  caucuscs,  cliicfly  for  the  purpose  of 
by^'congret^^  agreeing  upon  candidates  for  the  vice-presi- 
custisw)-  dency  and  making  some  plans  for  the  can- 
^■^^^  vass.       It   became    customary   to    nominate 

candidates  in  siich  congressional  caucuses,  but  there 
was  much  hostile  comment  upon  the  system  as  un- 
democratic. Sometimes  the  "  favourite  son  "  of  a  state 
was  nominated  by  the  legislature,  but  as  the  means 
of  travel  improved,  the  nominating  convention  came 
to  be  preferred.  In  1824  there  were  four  candidates 
for  the  presidency,  —  Adams,  Jackson,  Clay,  and 
Crawford.  Adams  was  nominated  by  the  legislatures 
of  most  of  the  New  England  states ;  Clay  by  the  legis- 
lature of  Kentucky,  followed  by  the  legislatures  of 
Missouri,  Ohio,  Illinois,  and  Louisiana ;  Crawford  by 
the  legislature  of  Virginia  ;  and  Jackson  by  a  mass 
convention  of  the  people  of  Blount  County  in  Tennes- 
see, followed  by  local  conventions  in  many  other  states. 
The  congressional  caucus  met  and  nominated  Crawford, 
but  this  indorsement  did  not  help  him,^  and  this  method 
was  no  longer  tried.  In  1832  for  the  first  time  the 
candidates  were  all  nominated  in  national  conventions. 
These  conventions,  as  fully  developed,  are  represen- 
Nominating  tativc  bodics  clioscn  for  the  specific  purpose 
conventions.  ^£  nominating  candidates  and  making  those 
declarations  of  principle  and  policy  known  as  "  plat- 
forms." Each  state  is  allowed  twice  as  many  dele- 
gates as  it  has  electoral  votes.  "  The  delegates  are 
^  Stanwood,  History  of  Presidential  Elections,  pp.  80-83. 


THE  FEDERAL   EXECUTIVE.  233 

chosen  by  local  conventions  in  their  several  states, 
viz.,  two  for  each  congressional  district  by  the  party 
convention  of  that  district,  and  four  for  the  whole 
state  (called  delegates-at-large)  by  the  state  conven- 
tion. As  each  convention  is  composed  of  delegates 
from  primaries,  it  is  the  composition  of  the  primaries 
which  determines  that  of  the  local  conventions,  and  it 
is  the  composition  of  the  local  conventions  which  de- 
termines that  of  the  national."  ^  The  "  primary  "  is 
the  smallest  nominating  convention.  It  stands  in 
somewhat  the  same  relation  to  the  national  conven- 
tion as  the  relation  of  a  township  or  ward  to  ^he  "pn- 
the  whole  United  States.  A  primary  is  a  ^^^y" 
little  caucus  of  all  the  voters  of  one  party  who  live 
within  the  bounds  of  the  township  or  ward.  It  differs 
in  composition  from  the  town-meeting  in  that  all  its 
members  belong  to  one  party.  It  has  two  duties  :  one 
is  to  nominate  candidates  for  the  local  offices  of  the 
township  or  ward  ;  the  other  is  to  choose  delegates  to 
the  county  or  district  convention.  The  primary,  as 
its  name  indicates,  is  a  primary  and  not  a  representa- 
tive assembly.  The  party  voters  in  a  township  or 
ward  are  usually  not  too  numerous  to  meet  together, 
and  all  ought  to  attend  such  meetings,  though  in  prac- 
tice too  many  people  stay  away.  By  the  representa- 
tive system,  through  various  grades  of  convention,  the 
wishes  and  character  of  these  countless  little  primaries 
are  at  length  expressed  in  the  wishes  and  character  of 
the  national  party  convention,  and  candidates  for  the 
presidency  and  vice-presidency  are  nominated. 

The  qualifications  for  the  two  offices  are  of  course 
the    same.      Foreisn-born    citizens    are   not  ^   ,.„ 

y  ...  .  Qiialinca- 

eliijible,  thouo;h  this  restriction  did  not  in-  tiuns  for  the 

<=•'•-'  ^    _  .  piosidency. 

elude   such  as  were  citizens  of  the  United 

1  Bryce,  American  Commonwealth,  vol.  ii.  p.  145  ;  see  also  p.  52. 


234  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

States  at  the  time  when  the  Constitution  was  adopted. 
The  candidate  must  have  reached  the  age  of  thirty- 
five,  and  must  have  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  of 
the  United  States. 

The  president's  term  of  office  is  four  years.  The 
Constitution  says  nothiug  about  his  reelection,  and 
The  term  of  there  is  no  written  law  to  prevent  his  being 
office.  reelected  a  dozen  times.     But  Washington, 

after  serving  two  terms,  refused  to  accept  the  office  a 
third  time.  Jefferson  in  1808  was  "  earnestly  be- 
sought by  many  and  influential  bodies  of  citizens  to 
become  a  candidate  for  a  third  term  ;  "  ^  and  had  he 
consented  there  is  scarcely  a  doubt  that  he  would  have 
been  elected.  His  refusal  established  a  custom  which 
has  never  been  infringed,  though  there  were  persons 
in  1876  and  again  in  1880  who  wished  to  secure  a 
third  term  for  Grant. 

The  president  is  commander-in-chief  of  the  military 
and  naval  forces  of  the  United  States,  and 

Powers  and  n       ,  .,..», 

duties  of  the  of  the  uulitia  of  the  several  states  when 
actually  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States ;  and  he  has  the  royal  prerogative  of  granting 
reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences  against  the  United 
States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment.^ 

He  can  make  treaties  with  foreign  powers,  but  they 
must  be  confirmed  by  a  two  tliirds  vote  of  the  Senate. 
He  appoints  ministers  to  foreign  countries,  consuls, 
and  the  greater  federal  officers,  such  as  the  heads  of 
executive  departments  and  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  all  these  appointments  are  subject  to  con- 
firmation by  the  Senate.  He  also  appoints  a  vast 
number  of  inferior  officers,  such  as  postmasters  and 
revenue  collectors,  without  the  participation  of  the 
Senate.     When  vacancies  occur  during  the  recess  of 

1  Morse's  Jefferson,  p.  318.  ^  s^e  above,  p.  221. 


THE  FEDERAL   EXECUTIVE.  235 

the  Senate,  he  may  fill  them  by  granting  commissions 
to  expire  at  the  end  of  the  next  session.  He  commis- 
sions all  federal  officers.  He  receives  foreign  min- 
isters. He  may  summon  either  or  both  houses  of 
Congress  to  an  extra  session,  and  if  the  two  houses 
disagree  with  regard  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he 
may  adjourn  them  to  such  time  as  he  thinks  best,  but 
of  course  not  beyond  the  day  fixed  for  the  beginning 
of  the  next  regular  session. 

The  president  must  from  time  to  time  make  a  report 
to  Congress  on  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  country  and 
suggest  such  a  line  of  policy  or  such  special  measures 
as  may  seem  good  to  him.     This  i*eport  has 

taken  the  form  of  an  annual  written  mes-  deut's  mes- 
sage. 
sage.     Washington  and  Adams  began  their 

administrations  by  addressing  CongTcss  in  a  speech, 
to  which  Congress  replied  ;  but  it  suited  the  opposite 
party  to  discover  in  this  an  imitation  of  the  British 
practice  of  opening  Parliament  with  a  speech  from 
the  sovereign.  It  was  accordingly  stigmatized  as 
"monarchical,"  and  Jefferson  (though  without  for- 
mally alleging  any  such  reason)  set  the  example, 
which  has  been  followed  ever  since,  of  addressing 
Congress  in  a  written  message.^  Besides  this  annual 
message,  the  president  may  at  any  time  send  in  a 
special  message  relating  to  matters  which  in  his  opin- 
ion require  immediate  attention. 

The  effectiveness  of  a  president's  message  depends 
of  course  on  the  character  of  the  president  and  the 
general  features  of  the  political  situation.  That 
separation  between  the  executive  and  legislative  de- 
partments, which  is  one  of  the  most  distinctive  fea- 
'  tures  of  civil  government  in  the  United  States,  tends 
to  prevent  the  development  of  leadership.  An  Eng- 
^  Jefferson,  moreover,  was  a  powerful  writer  and  a  poor  speaker. 


236  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

lish  prime  minister's  policy,  so  long  as  he  remains  in 
office,  must  be  that  of  the  House  of  Commons ;  power 
and  responsibility  are  concentrated.  An  able  presi- 
dent may  virtually  direct  the  policy  of  his  party  in 
Congress,  but  he  often  has  a  majority  against  him  in 
one  house  and  sometimes  in  both  at  once.  Thus  in 
dividing  power  we  divide  and  weaken  responsibility. 
To  this  point  I  have  already  alluded  as  illustrated  in 
our  state  governments.^ 

The  Constitution  made  no  specific  provisions  for 
the  creation  of  executive  dejiartments,  but  left  the 
Executive  matter  to  Congress.  At  the  beginning  of 
departments,  'wrashington's  administration  three  secreta- 
ryships were  created,  —  those  of  state,  treasury,  and 
war  ;  and  an  attorney-general  was  appointed.  After- 
ward the  department  of  the  navy  was  separated  from 
that  of  war,  the  postmaster-general  was  made  a  mem- 
ber of  the  administration,  and  as  lately  as  1849  the 
dejiartment  of  the  interior  was  organized.  The  heads 
of  these  departments  are  the  presitlent's  advisers,  but 
they  have  as  a  body  no  recognized  legal  existence  or 
authority.  They  hold  their  meetings  in  a  room  at  the 
president's  executive  mansion,  the  White  House,  but 
no  record  is  kept  of  their  proceedings  and  the  presi- 
dent is  not  bound  to  heed  their  advice.  This  body 
has  always  been  called  the  "  Cabinet,"  after  the  Eng- 
lish usage.  It  is  like  the  English  cabinet  in  being 
composed  of  heads  of  executive  departments 

The  cabinet.  ,     .        ,      .  ,       ,  , 

and  m  being,  as  a  body,  unknown  to  the 
law ;  in  other  respects  the  difference  is  very  great. 
The  English  cabinet  is  the  executive  committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  and  exercises  a  guiding  and 

1  The  Englisli  method,  however,  would  probably  not  work  well 
in  this  country,  and  might  prove  to  be  a  source  of  great  and 
comj)licated  dangcr.s.     See  above,  p.  1G9. 


THE  FEDERAL  EXECUTIVE.  237 

directing  influence  upon  legislation.  The  position  of 
the  president  is  not  at  all  like  that  of  the  prime  min- 
ister ;  it  is  more  like  that  of  the  English  sovereign, 
though  the  latter  has  not  nearly  so  much  power  as  the 
president ;  and  the  American  cabinet  in  some  respects 
resembles  the  English  privy  council,  though  it  cannot 
make  ordinances. 

The  secretary  of  state  ranks  first  among  our  cab- 
inet officers.  He  is  often  called  our  prime  minister 
or  "  premier,"  but  there  could  not  be  a  more  absurd 
use  of  language.  In  order  to  make  an  American  per- 
sonage corresponding  to  the  English  prime  minister 
we  must  first  go  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  take 
its  committee  of  ways  and  means  and  its 

,      .  1  •  1  T^^  secre- 

committee  on  appropriations,  and  unite  them  tary  of 

.  P   r>  ^  state. 

into  one  committee  oi  finance  ;  then  we  must 
take  the  chairman  of  this  committee,  give  him  the 
power  of  dissolving  the  House  and  ordering  a  new 
election,  and  make  him  master  of  all  the  executive 
departments,  while  at  the  same  time  we  strip  from  the 
president  all  real  control  over  the  administration. 
This  exalted  finance-chairman  would  be  mvich  like  the 
First  Lord  of  the  Treasury,  commonly  called  the 
prime  minister.  This  illustration  shows  how  wide  the 
divergence  has  become  between  our  system  and  that 
of  Great  Britain, 

Our  secretary  of  state  is  our  minister  of  foreign 
affairs,  and  is  the  only  officer  who  is  authorized  to 
communicate  with  other  governments  in  the  name  of 
the  president.  He  is  at  the  head  of  the  diplomatic 
and  consular  service,  issuing  the  instructions  to  our 
ministers  abroad,  and  he  takes  a  leading  part  in  the 
negotiation  of  treaties.  To  these  ministerial  duties 
he  adds  some  that  are  more  characteristic  of  his  title 
of  secretary.     He  keeps  the   national   archives,  and 


238  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

superintends  tlie  publication  of  laws,  treaties,  and 
proclamations  ;  and  he  is  the  keeper  of  the  great  seal 
of  the  United  States. 

Our  foreign  relations  are  cared  for  in  foreign  coun- 
ties by  two  distinct  classes  of  officials  :  ministers  and 
consuls.  The  former  represent  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment in  a  diplomatic  capacity ;  the  latter  have 
nothing  to  do  with  diplomacy  or  politics,  but  look 
after   our    commercial    interests    in    foreign 

Diplomatic  .  /~(  i  •  a_      ^• 

aud  consular  couutries.      Cousuls   excrcisc    a    protective 

service.  -,  »  .  ^     ,• 

care  over  seamen,  and  pertorm  various  duties 
for  Americans  abroad.  They  can  take  testimony  and 
administer  estates.  In  some  non -Christian  countries, 
such  as  China,  Japan,  and  Turkey,  they  have  juris- 
diction over  criminal  cases  in  which  Americans  are 
concerned.  Our  ministers  abroad  are  of  three  grades : 
(1)  "envoys  extraordinary  and  ministers  plenipoten- 
tiary;" (2)  "  ministers  resident ;  "  (3)  charges  cV af- 
faires. The  first  two  are  accredited  by  the  president 
to  the  head  of  government  of  the  countries  to  which 
they  are  sent ;  the  third  are  accredited  by  the  secretary 
of  state  to  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  in  the  coun- 
tries to  which  they  are  sent.  These  grades  correspond 
to  the  lower  grades  of  the  diplomatic  service  in  Euro- 
pean countries.  We  have  no  grade  answering  to  that 
of  "  ambassador,"  perhaps  because  when  our  diplomatic 
service  was  organized  it  may  have  been  remembered 
that  an  ambassador  was  formerly  supposed  to  represent 
the  person  of  a  sovereign,  or  more  likely  because  the 
•  United  States  did  not  then  rank  among  first-rate 
powers,  and  could  not  expect  to  receive  ambassadors. 
Great  powers,  like  France  and  Germany,  send  ambas- 
sadors to  each  other,  and  envoys  to  inferior  powers, 
like  Denmark  or  Greece  or  Guatemala.  When  we 
send  envoys  to  the  great  powers,  we  rank  ourselves 
along  with  inferior  powers ;  and  diplomatic  etiquette 


THE  FEDERAL  EXECUTIVE.  239 

obliges  the  great  powers  to  send  to  us  the  same  grade  of 
minister  that  we  send  to  them.  There  are  practical 
inconveniences  about  this,  so  that  there  are  some  who 
think  it  would  be  better  i£  we  were  to  adopt  the  grade 
of  ambassador. 

The  cabinet  officer  second  in  rank  and  in  some 
respects  first  in  importance  is  the  secretary  of  the  treas- 
ury. He  conducts  the  financial  business  of  the  gov- 
ernment, superintends  the  collection  of  reve- 

,        .  CI  n    '^'^^  secre- 

nue,  and  g-ives  warrants  for  the  payment  or  tary  ot  the 

«  ,  TT        1  •  treasury. 

moneys  from  the  treasury,  lie  also  super m- 
tends  the  coinage,  the  national  banks,  the  custom- 
houses, the  coast-survey  and  lighthouse  system,  the 
marine  hospitals,  and  life-saving  service.^  He  sends 
reports  to  Congress,  and  suggests  such  measures  as 
seem  good  to  him.  Since  the  Civil  War  his  most 
weighty  business  has  been  the  management  of  the 
national  debt.  He  is  aided  by  two  assistant  secreta- 
ries, six  auditors,  a  register,  a  comptroller,  a  solicitor, 
a  director  of  the  mint,  commissioner  of  internal  rev- 
enue, chiefs  of  the  bureau  of  statistics  and  bureau  of 
engraving  and  printing,  etc.  The  business  of  the 
treasury  department  is  enormous,  and  no  part  of  our 
government  has  been  more  faithfully  administered. 
Since  1789  the  treasury  has  disbursed  more  than  seven 
billions  of  dollars  without  one  serious  defalcation. 
No  man  directly  interested  in  trade  or  commerce  can 
be  appointed  secretary  of  the  treasury,  and  the  de- 
partment has  almost  always  been  managed  by  "  men 
of  small  incomes  bred  either  to  politics  or  the  legal 
profession."  2 

1  Many  of  these  details  concerning  the  executive  departments 
are  admirablj'  summarized,  and  with  more  fulhiess  than  com- 
ports with  the  design  of  tlie  present  work,  in  Thorpe's  Govern- 
ment of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  pp.  183-193. 

a  Schouler,  Hist,  of  the  U.  5.,  vol.  i.  p.  95. 


240  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

The  war  and  navy  departments  need  no  special 
description  here.  The  former  is  divided  into  ten  and 
War  and  ^hc  latter  into  eight  bureaus.  The  weather 
navy.  burcau,   presided    over  by  the    chief  signal 

officer,  is  a  part  of  the  war  department ;  and  the 
naval  department,  among  many  duties,  has  charge  of 
the  naval  observatory  at  Washington  and  publishes 
the  nautical  almanac. 

The  department  of  the  interior  conducts  a  vast  and 
various  business,  as  is  shown  by  the  designations  of 
its  eight  bureaus,  which  deal  with  public 
lauds,  Indian  affairs,  pensions,  patents, 
education  (chiefly  in  the  way  of  gathering  statistics 
and  reporting  upon  school  affairs),  agricultui'e,  public 
documents,  and  the  census. 

The  departments  of  the  postmaster -general  and 
attorney-general  need  no  special  description.  The 
Postmaster-  latter  was  organized  in  1870  into  the  depart- 
attTmey'i"'^  mcut  of  justicc.  Tlic  attomcy-gcneral  is  the 
general.  president's  legal  adviser,  and  represents  the 
United  States  in  all  law-suits  to  which  the  United 
States  is  a  party.  He  is  aided  by  a  solicitor-gen- 
eral and  other  subordinate  officers. 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE   TEXT. 

1.  Speak  (1)  of  the  president's  share  in  legislation,  (2)  of  his 

relation  to  the  executive  department,  and  (3)  of  the  origin 
of  his  title. 

2.  The  electoral  college  :  — 

a.  The  method  of  electing  the  president  a  perplexing  ques- 

tion. 

b.  The  constitution  of  the  electoral  college,  with  illustrations. 

c.  Qualifications  for  serving  as  an  elector. 

d.  The  method  of  choosing  electors. 

e.  The  time  of  choosing  electors. 

f.  When  and  where  the  electors  vote. 

g.  The  number  and  disposition  of  the  certificates  of  their 

votes. 


THE  FEDERAL  EXECUTIVE.  241 

h.  The  declaration  of  the  result. 

3.  What  was  the  method  of  voting  in  the  electoral  college  be- 

fore 1804  ?      Illustrate  the  working  of  this  method   in 
1796  and  1800. 

4.  The  amendment  of  1804  :  — 
a.  The  ballots  of  the  electors. 

h.  The  duty  of  the  House  if  no  candidate  for  the  presidency 
receives  a  majority  of  the  electoral  votes. 

c.  The  duty  of  the  Senate  if  no  candidate  for  the  vice-pres- 

idency receives  a  majority  of  the  electoral  votes. 

d.  Illustrations  of  the  working  of  this  amendment  in  1825 

and  1837. 

5.  The  electoral  commission  of  1877  :  — 
a.  A  difficulty  not  foreseen. 

h.  Conflicting  returns  in  1877. 

c.  The  plan  of  arbitration  adopted. 

6.  The  presidential  succession  :  — 
a.  The  office  of  vice-president. 
h.  The  act  of  1791. 

c.  The  possibility  of  a  lapse  of  the  presidency. 

d.  The  possibility  of  an  unfair  political  overthrow. 

e.  The  act  of  1886. 

7.  Compare  the  original  purpose  of  the  electoral  college  with 

the  fulfillment  of  that  purpose. 

8.  Explain  the  transition  from  a  divided  electoral  vote  in  a  state 

to  a  solid  electoral  vote. 

9.  Show  how  a  minority  of  the  people  may  elect  a  president. 

Who  have  been  elected  by  minorities  ? 

10.  What  is  the  advantage  of  the  electoral  system  over  a  direct 

popular  vote  ? 

11.  Methods   of  nominating  candidates  for  the  presidency  and 

vice-presidency  before  1832  :  — 
a.  The  absence  of  constitutional  and  legislative  requirements. 
h.  Presidents  not  nominated. 

c.  Nominations  by  congressional  caucuses. 

d.  Nominations  by  state  legislatures. 

e.  Nominations  by  local  conventions. 

12.  Nominations  by  national  conventions  in  1832  and  since  :  — 
a.  The  nature  of  a  national  convention. 
h.  The  platform. 

c.  The  number  of  delegates  from  a  state,   and  their  elec- 
tion. 


2i2  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

d.  The  relation  of  the  "  primaries "  to  district,  state,  and 

national  conventions. 
€.  The  nature  of  the  primary. 

f.  Its  two  duties. 

g.  The  duty  of  the  voter  to  attend  the  primaries. 

13.  The  presidency  :  — 

a.  Qualifications  for  the  office. 
h.  The  term  of  office. 

14.  Powers  and  duties  of  the  president :  — 
a.  As  a  commander-in-chief. 

h.  In  respect  to  reprieves  and  pardons. 

c.  In  respect  to  treaties  with  foreign  powers. 

d.  In  respect  to  the  appointment  of  federal  officers. 

e.  In  respect  to  summoning  and  adjourning  Congress. 

f.  In  respect  to  reporting  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  country 

to  Congress. 

15.  The  president's  message  :  — 

a.  The  course  of  Washington  and  Adams. 

b.  The  example  of  Jefferson. 

c.  The  effectiveness  of  the  message. 

d.  Power  and  responsibility  in  the  English  system. 

e.  Power  and  responsibility  in  the  American  system. 

1 6.  Executive  departments  :  — 

a.  The  departments  under  Washington. 
h.  Later  additions  to  the  departments. 

c.  The  "  Cabinet." 

d.  The  resemblance   between  the  English  cabinet  and  our 

own. 

e.  The  difference  between  the  English  cabinet  and  our  own. 

1 7.  The  secretary  of  state  :  - — 

a.  Is  he  a  prime  minister  ? 

b.  What  would  be  necessary  to  make  an  American  personage 

correspond  to  an  English  prime  minister  ? 

c.  What  are  the  ministerial  duties  of  the  secretary  of  state  ? 

d.  What  other  duties  has  he  more  characteristic  of  his  title  ? 

18.  Our  diplomatic  and  consular  service  :  — 

a.  The  distinction  between  ministers  and  consuls. 
h.  Three  grades  of  ministers. 

c.  The  persons  to  whom  tlie  three  grades  are  accredited. 

d.  The  grade  of  ambassador. 

1 9.  The  secretary  of  the  treasury  :  — 
a.  His  rank  and  importance. 


THE  NATION  AND   THE  STATES.         243 

b.  His  various  duties. 

c.  His  chief  assistants. 

d.  The  aclministratiou  of  the  treasury  department  since  1789. 
20.  The  duties  of  the  remaining  cabinet  officers  :  — 

a.  Of  the  secretary  of  war. 

b.  Of  the  secretary  of  the  navy. 

c.  Of  the  secretary  of  the  interior. 

d.  Of  the  postmaster-general. 

e.  Of  the  attorney-general. 

§  4.   The  Nation  and  the  States. 

We  have  left  our  Federal  Convention  sitting  a  good 
while  at  Philadelphia,  while  we  have  thus  undertaken 
to  give  a  coherent  account  of  our  national  executive 
organization,  which  has  in  great  part  grown  up  since 
1789  with  the  growth  of  the  nation.  Observe  how 
wisely  the  Constitution  confines  itself  to  a  clear  sketch 
of  fundamentals,  and  leaves  as  much  as  possible  to 
be  developed  by  circumstances.  In  this  feature  lies 
partly  the  flexible  strength,  the  adaptableness,  of  our 
Federal  Constitiition.  That  strength  lies  partly  also 
in  the  excellent  partition  of  powers  between  the  fed- 
eral government  and  the  several  states. 

We  have  already  remarked  upon  the  vastness  of 
the  functions  retained  by  the  states.  At  the  same 
time  the  powers  granted  to  Congress  have  proved 
sufficient  to  bind  the  states  together  into  a  union  that 
is  more  than  a  mere  confederation.     Fi'om 

Difference 

1776  to  1789  the  United  States  were  a  con-  betweencon- 

federation 

federation;  after  1789  it  was  a  federal  na-  am] federal 

union. 

tion.  The  passage  from  plui"al  to  singular 
was  accomplished,  although  it  took  some  people  a 
good  while  to  realize  the  fact.  The  German  language 
has  a  neat  way  of  distinguishing  between  a  loose  con- 
federation and  a  federal  union.  It  calls  the  former  a 
Staatenhund  and  the  latter  a  Bundcsstaat.     So  in 


244  THE  FEDERAL   UNION. 

English,  if  we  liked,  we  might  call  the  confederation 
a  Band-of- States  and  the  federal  union  a  Banded- 
State.  There  are  two  points  especially  in  our  Con- 
stitution which  transformed  our  country  from  a  Band- 
of-States  into  a  Banded-State. 

The  first  was  the  creation  of  a  federal  House  of 

Representatives,  thus  securing  for  Congress  the  power 

"  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises, 

to  pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common  welfare 

of  the  United  States."     Other  powers  are 

Powers 

granted  to     naturally   attached   to   this,  —  such    as   the 

Congress.  "^  t         p      i 

power  to  borrow  money  on  the  credit  oi  the 
United  States  ;  to  regulate  foreign  and  domestic  com- 
merce ;  to  coin  money  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights 
and  measures ;  to  provide  for  the  punishment  of 
counterfeiters  ;  to  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads ; 
to  issue  copyrights  and  patents ;  to  "  define  and  pun- 
ish felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas,  and  offences 
against  the  law  of  nations ;  to  declare  war,  grant  let- 
ters of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make  rules  concern- 
ing captures  on  land  and  water  ; "  to  raise  and  sup- 
port an  army  and  navy,  and  to  make  rules  for  the 
regulation  of  the  land  naval  forces  ;  to  provide  for 
calling  out  the  militia  to  suppress  insurrections  and 
repel  invasions,  and  to  command  this  militia  while 
actually  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
The  several  states,  however,  train  their  own  militia 
and  appoint  the  officers.  Congress  may  also  establish 
a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform  laws  on 
the  subject  of  bankruptcies,  but  it  has  not  done  so. 
It  also  exercises  exclusive  control  over  the  District  of 
Columbia,^  as  the  seat  of  the  national  government, 
and  over  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dockyards,  and 
other  needful  buildings,  which  it  erects  within  the 
^  Ceded  to  the  United  States  by  Maryland  and  Virginia. 


THE  NATION  AND   THE  STATES.         245 

several  states  upon  land  purchased  for  such  purposes 
with  the  consent  of  the  state  legislature. 

Congress  is  also  empowered  "  to  make  all  laws 
which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying  into 
execution  the  foregoing  powers  and  all  other  powers 
vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  govern-  The  "Elastic 
ment  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  depart-  <^^^"^^-" 
ment  or  office  thereof."  This  may  be  called  the 
Elastic  Clause  of  the  Constitution  ;  it  has  undergone 
a  good  deal  of  stretching  for  one  purpose  and  another, 
and,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  it  was  a  profound  dis- 
agreement in  the  interpretation  of  this  clause  that 
after  1789  divided  the  American  people  into  two  great 
political  parties. 

The  national  authority  of  Congress  is  further 
sharply  defined  by  the  express  denial  of  sundry  pow- 
ers to  the  several  states.     These  we  have  al-  „ 

Powers  de- 

readv  enumerated.^     There  was  an  especial  i"ed  to  the 

''  ...  ,  states. 

reason  for  prohibiting  the  states  from  issu- 
ing bills  of  credit,  or  making  anything  but  gold  and 
silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts.  During  the 
years  1785  and  1786  a  paper  money  craze  ran  through 
the  country ;  most  of  the  states  issued  paper  notes, 
and  passed  laws  obliging  their  citizens  to  receive  them 
in  payment  of  debts.  Now  a  paper  dollar  is  not 
money,  it  is  only  the  government's  promise  to  pay  a 
dollar.  As  long  as  you  can  send  it  to  the  treasury 
and  get  a  gold  dollar  in  exchange,  it  is  worth  a  dollar. 
It  is  this  exchangeableness  that  makes  it  paper  cur- 
worth  a  dollar.  When  government  makes  ''''°'^^" 
the  paper  dollar  note  a  "  legal  tender,"  i.  e.,  when  it 
refuses  to  give  you  the  gold  dollar  and  makes  you 
take  its  note  instead,  the  note  soon  ceases  to  bo  worth 
a  dollar.  You  would  rather  have  the  gold  than  the 
^  See  above,  p.  175. 


246  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

note,  for  the  mere  fact  that  government  refuses  to  give 
the  ooltl  shows  that  it  is  in  financial  difficulties.  So 
the  note's  value  is  sure  to  fall,  and  if  the  government 
is  in  serious  difficulty,  it  falls  very  far,  and  as  it  falls 
it  takes  more  of  it  to  buy  things.  Prices  go  up.  There 
was  a  time  (18G4)  during  our  Civil  War  when  a  pa- 
per dollar  was  worth  only  forty  cents  and  a  barrel  of 
flour  cost  f23.  But  that  was  nothing  to  the  year 
1780,  when  the  paper  dollar  issued  by  the  Continental 
Congress  was  worth  only  a  mill,  and  flour  was  sold  in 
Boston  for  $1,575  a  barrel !  When  the  different 
states  tried  to  make  paper  money,  it  made  confusion 
worse  confounded,  for  the  states  refused  to  take  each 
other's  money,  and  this  helped  to  lower  its  value.  In 
some  states  the  value  of  the  paper  dollar  fell  in  less 
than  a  year  to  twelve  or  fifteen  cents.  At  such  times 
there  is  always  great  demoralization  and  suffering, 
especially  among  the  poorer  people ;  and  with  all  the 
experience  of  the  past  to  teach  us,  it  may  now  be  held 
to  be  little  less  than  a  criminal  act  for  a  government, 
under  any  circumstances,  to  make  its  paper  notes  a 
legal  tender.  The  excuse  for  the  Continental  Con- 
gress was  that  it  was  not  completely  a  government 
and  seemed  to  have  no  alternative,  but  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  paper  currency  damaged  the  country 
much  more  than  the  arras  of  the  enemy  by  land  or 
sea.  The  feeling  was  so  strong  about  it  in  the 
Federal  Convention  that  the  prohibition  came  near 
being  extended  to  the  national  government,  but  the 
question  was  unfortunately  left  undecided.^ 

Some  express  prohibitions  were  laid  upon  the 
national  government.  Duties  may  be  laid  upon  im- 
23orts  but  not  upon  exports ;  this  wise  restriction  was 

^  See  my  Critical  Period  of  American  History,  pp.  1G8-18C, 
27a-276. 


THE  NATION  AND   THE  STATES.         247 

a  special  concession  to  South  Carolina,  which  feared 
the  effect  of  an  export  duty  upon  rice  and  ^ 

•i  ^       X  ^      Powers  de- 

indio-o.      Duties  and  excises  must  be  uni-  ^ied  to  con- 

o  greaa. 

form  throughout  the  country,  and  no  com- 
mercial preference  can  be  shown  to  one  state  over 
another ;  absolute  free  trade  is  the  rule  between  the 
states.  A  census  must  be  taken  every  ten  years  in 
order  to  adjust  the  representation,  and  no  direct  tax 
can  be  imposed  except  according  to  the  census.  No 
money  can  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  except  "  in 
consequence  of  appropriations  made  by  law,"  and 
accounts  must  be  regularly  kept  and  published.  The 
privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  cannot  be  sus- 
pended except  "  when,  in  case  of  rebellion  or  invasion, 
the  public  safety  may  require  it ;  "  and  "  no  bill  of  at- 
tainder, or  ex  post  facto  law,"  can  be  passed.  A  bill 
of  attainder  is  a  special  legislative  act  by  5^^  ^^  ^j. 
which  a  person  may  be  condemned  to  death,  *=^'^®'"- 
or  to  outlawry  and  banishment,  without  the  opportu- 
nity of  defending  himself  which  he  would  have  in  a 
court  of  law.  "  No  evidence  is  necessarily  adduced  to 
support  it,"  1  and  in  former  times,  especially  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  it  was  a  formidable  engine  for 
perpetrating  judicial  murders.  Bills  of  attainder  long 
ago  ceased  to  be  employed  in  England,  and  the  pro- 
cess was  abolished  by  statute  in  1870. 

No  title  of  nobility  can  be  granted  by  the  United 
States,  and  no  federal  officer  can  accept  a  present, 
office,  or  title  from  a  foreign  state  without  the  consent 
of  Congress.  "  No  relicious  test  shall  ever  be  re- 
quired  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust 
under  the  United  States."  Full  faith  and  credit 
must  be  given  in  each  state  to  the  public  acts  and 
records,  and  to  the  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other 

*  Taswell-Langmead,  English  Constitutional  History,  p.  3S5. 


248  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

state ;  and  it  is  left  for  Congress  to  determine  the 
intercitizen-  manner  in  whicli  such  acts  and  proceedings 
^^*P"  shall  be  proved  or  certified.     The  citizens  of 

each  state  are  "  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  immuni- 
ties of  citizens  in  the  several  states."  There  is  mutual 
extradition  of  criminals,  and,  as  a  concession  to  the 
southern  states  it  was  provided  that  fugitive  slaves 
should  be  surrendered  to  their  masters.  The  United 
States  guarantees  to  every  state  a  republican  form  of 
government,  it  protects  each  state  against  invasion ; 
and  on  application  from  the  legislature  of  a  state,  or 
from  the  executive  when  the  legislature  cannot  be 
convened,  it  lends  a  hand  in  suppressing  insurrection. 

Amendments  to  the  Constitution  may  at  any  time 
be  proposed  in  pursuance  of  a  two  thirds  vote  in  both 
houses  of  Congress,  or  by  a  convention  called  at  the 
request  of  the  legislatures  of  two  thirds  of  the  states. 
Mode  of  The  amendments  are  not  in  force  until  rati- 
^^^i,  fied  by  three  fourths  of  the  states,  either 
ments.  through  their  legislatures  or  through  special 

conventions,  according  to  the  preference  of  Congress. 
This  makes  it  difficult  to  change  the  Constitution,  as 
it  ought  to  be  ;  but  it  leaves  it  possible  to  introduce 
changes  that  are  very  obviously  desirable.  The 
Articles  of  Confederation  could  not  be  amended  ex- 
cept by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  states,  and  this  made 
their  amendment  almost  impossible. 

After  assuming  all  debts  contracted  and  engage- 
ments made  by  the  United  States  before  its  adoption, 
the  Constitution  goes  on  to  declare  itself  the  supreme 
law  of  the  land.  By  It,  and  by  the  laws  and  treaties 
made  under  it,  the  judges  In  every  state  are  bound, 
in  spite  of  anything  contrary  in  the  constitution  or 
laws  of  any  state. 


THE  NATION  AND    THE   STATES.  249 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE   TEXT. 

1.  In  what  two  features  of  the  Coustitution  does  its  strength 

largely  lie  ? 

2.  Distinguish  between  the  United  States  as  a  confederation 

and  the  United  States  as  a  federal  union.     How  does  the 
German  language  bring  out  the  distinction  ? 

3.  What  was  the  first  important  factor  in  transforming  our 

country  from  a  Band-of-States  to  a  Banded-State  ? 

4.  The  powers  granted  to  Congress  :  — 

a.  Over  taxes,  money,  and  commerce. 

b.  Over  postal  affairs,  and  the  rights  of  inventors  and  au- 

thors. 

c.  Over  certain  crimes. 

d.  Over  war  and  military  matters. 

e.  Over  naturalization  and  bankruptcy. 

/.  Over  the  District  of  Columbia  and  other  places. 
g.  The  "  elastic  clause  "  and  its  interpretation. 

5.  The  powers  denied  to  the  states  :  — 

a.  An  enumeration  of  these  powers  (p.  175). 

b.  The  prohibition  of  bills  of  credit,  in  particular. 

c.  The  paper  money  craze  of  1785  and  1786. 

d.  Paper  money  as  a  "  legal  tender." 

e.  The  depreciation  of  paper  money  during  the  Civil  War. 
/.  The  depreciation  of  the  Continental  currency  in  1780. 

g.  The  demoralization  caused  by  the  states  making  paper 

money. 
h.  The  lesson  of  experience. 

6.  Prohibitions  upon  the  national  government  :  — 

a.  The  imposition  of  duties  and  taxes. 

b.  The  payment  of  money. 

c.  The  writ  of  habeas  corpus. 

d.  Ex  post  facto  laws. 

e.  Bills  of  attainder. 
/.  Titles  and  presents. 

7.  Duties  of  the  states  to  one  another  :  — 

a.  In  respect  to  public  acts  and  records,  and  judicial  pro- 

ceedings. 

b.  In  respect  to  the  privileges  of  citizens. 

c.  In  respect  to  fugitives  from  justice. 

8.  What  is  the  duty  of   the   United  States  to  every  state  in 

respect  (1)  to  form  of  government,  (2)  invasion,  and  (3) 
insurrection  ? 


250  THE   FEDERAL    UNION. 

9.  Amendments  to  the  Constitutiou  :  — 

a.  Two  methods  of  proposing  amendments. 
h.  Two  methods  of  ratifying  amendments. 

c.  The  difficulty  of  making  amendments. 

d.  Amendment  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 

10.  What  is  meant  by  the  Constitution's  declaring  itself  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land  ? 

§  5.   The  Federal  Judiciary. 

The  creation  of  a  federal  judiciary  was  the  second 
principal  feature  in  the  Constitution,  which  trans- 
formed our  country  from  a  loose  confederation  into  a 
federal  nation,  from  a  Band-of- States  into  a  Banded- 
State.  We  have  seen  that  the  American  people  were 
already  somewhat  familiar  with  the  method  of  testing 

the  constitutionality  of  a  law  by  getting  the 
federal  judi-  matter  Lrouglit  before  the  courts.^     In  the 

case  of  a  conflict  between  state  law  and 
federal  law,  the  only  practicable  peaceful  solution  is 
that  which  is  reached  through  a  judicial  decision. 
The  federal  authority  also  needs  the  machinery  of 
courts  in  order  to  enforce  its  own  decrees. 

The  federal  judiciary  consists  of  a  supreme  court, 
circuit  courts,  and  district  courts.  At  present  the 
supreme  court  consists  of  a  chief  justice  and  eight 
associate  justices.  It  holds  annual  sessions  in  the  city 
of  Washington,  beginning  on  the  second  Monday  of 

October.     Each  of  these  nine  judges  is  also 

Federal  ,  .  •'        ° 

courts  and      presiding  ludofe  of  a  circuit  court.     iJie  area 

judges.  o   .1        o 

of  the  United  States,  not  including  the  terri- 
tories, is  divided  into  nine  circuits,  and  in  each  circuit 
the  presiding  judge  is  assisted  by  special  circuit  judges. 
The  circuits  are  divided  into  districts,  fifty-six  in  aU, 
and  in  each  of  these  there  is  a  special  district  judge. 
The  districts  never  cross  state  lines.  Sometimes  a 
^  See  above,  p.  194. 


THE  FEDERAL  JUDICIARY.  251 

state  is  one  district,  but  populous  states  with  much 
business  are  divided  into  two  or  even  three  districts. 
"  The  circuit  courts  sit  in  the  several  districts  of  each 
circuit  successively,  and  the  law  requires  that  each  jus- 
tice of  the  supreme  court  shall  sit  in  each  district  of 
his  circuit  at  least  once  every  two  years."  ^  District 
judges  are  not  confined  to  their  own  districts ;  they 
may  vipon  occasion  exchange  districts  as  ministers  ex- 
change pulpits.  A  district  judge  may,  if  need  be,  act 
as  a  circuit  judge,  as  a  major  may  command  a  regi- 
ment. All  federal  judges  are  appointed  by  the  presi- 
dent, with  the  consent  of  the  Senate,  to  serve  during 
good  behaviour.  Each  district  has  its  district  attor- 
ney, whose  business  is  to  prosecute  offenders 

.  ,        p  .    .       District  at- 

agamst  the  federal  laws  and  to  conduct  civil  tomeys  and 

•  ■,.-,■,  .  ,  .       marshals. 

cases  m  which  the  national  government  is 
either  plaintiff  or  defendant.  Each  district  has  also 
its  marshal,  who  has  the  same  functions  under  the 
federal  court  as  the  sheriff  under  the  state  court.  The 
procedure  of  the  federal  court  usually  follows  that  of 
the  courts  of  the  state  in  which  it  is  sitting. 

The  federal  jurisdiction  covers  two  classes  of  cases: 
(1)  those  which  come  before  it  "  because  of  the  nature 
of  the  questions  involved :  for  instance,  admiralty  and 
maritime  cases,  navigable  waters  being  within  the 
exclusive  jurisdiction  of  the  federal  author-  ,j,i,e  federal 
ities,  and  cases  arising  out  of  the  Constitu-  J^"sdiction. 
tion,  laws,  or  treaties  of  the  United  States  or  out  of 
conflicting  grants  made  by  different  states  "  ;  (2)  those 
which  come  before  it  "  because  of  the  nature  of  the 
j)arties  to  the  suit,''  such  as  cases  affecting  the  min- 
isters of  foreign  powers  or  suits  between  citizens  of 
different  states. 

^  See  Wilson,  The  State,  p.  554.  I  have  closely  followed, 
though  with  much  abridgment,  the  excellent  description  of  our 
federal  judiciary,  pp.  555-5G1. 


252  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

The  division  of  jurisdiction  between  the  upper  and 
lower  federal  courts  is  determined  chiefly  by  the  size 
and  importance  of  the  cases.  In  cases  where  a  state 
or  a  foreign  minister  is  a  party  the  supreme  court  has 
original  jurisdiction,  in  other  cases  it  has  appellate 
jurisdiction,  and  "  any  case  which  involves  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  Constitution  can  be  taken  to  the  su- 
preme court,  however  small  the  sum  in  dispute."  If  a 
law  of  any  state  or  of  the  United  States  is  decided 
by  the  supreme  court  to  be  in  violation  of  the  Consti- 
tution, it  instantly  becomes  void  and  of  no  effect. 
In  this  supreme  exercise  of  jurisdiction,  our  highest 
federal  tribunal  is  unlike  any  other  tribunal  known 
to  history.  The  supreme  court  is  the  most  original  of 
all  American  institutions.  It  is  peculiarly  American, 
and  for  its  exalted  character  and  priceless  services  it  is 
an  institution  of  which  Americans  may  weU  be  proud. 

QUESTIONS    ON   THE    TEXT. 

1.  What  was  the   second  important  factor  (see  p.  244  for  the 

first)  in  transforming  our  country  from  a  Band- of -States 
to  a  Banded-State  ? 

2.  Why  was  a  federal  judiciary  deemed  necessary  ? 

3.  The  organization  of  the  federal  judiciary  ;  — 

a.  The  supreme  court  and  its  sessions. 

b.  The  circuit  courts. 

c.  The  district  courts. 

d.  Exchanges  of  service. 

e.  Appointment  of  judges. 

f.  The  United  States  district  attorney. 

g.  The  United  States  marshal. 

4.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  federal  courts  :  — 

a.  Cases  because  of  the  nature  of  the  questions  involved. 

b.  Cases  because  of  the  nature  of  the  parties  to  the  suit. 

c.  The  division  of  jurisdiction  between  the  upper  and   the 

lower  courts. 

d.  Wherein  tlie  supreme  court  is  the  most  original  of  Amer- 

ican institutions. 


TERRITORIAL   GOVERNMENT.  253 

§  6.  Territorial  Government. 
The  Constitution  provided  for  the  admission  of  new 
states  to  the  Union,  but  it  does  not  allow  a  state  to 
be  formed  within  another  state.  A  state  cannot  "  be 
formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  states,  or  parts 
of  states,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislatures  of  the 
states  concerned  as  well  as  of  the  Congress."  Shortly 
before  the  making  of  the  Constitution,  the  United 
States  had  been  endowed  for  the  first  time 

.   ,  ,  1.       ,  .  rr.,  .  1        TheNorth- 

with  a  public  domain,  ihe  territory  north-  westiem- 
west  of  the  Ohio  River  had  been  claimed,  on 
the  strength  of  old  grants  and  charters,  by  Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut,  New  York,  and  Virginia.  In  1777 
Maryland  refused  to  sign  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion until  these  states  should  agree  to  cede  their  claims 
to  the  United  States,  and  thus  in  1784  the  federal 
government  came  into  possession  of  a  magnificent  ter- 
ritory, out  of  which  five  great  states  —  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin  —  have  since  been 
made.  While  the  Federal  Convention  was  sitting  at 
Philadelphia,  the  Continental  Congress  at  New  York 
was  doing  almost  its  last  and  one  of  its  greatest  pieces 
of  work  in  framing  the  Ordinance  of  1787  for  the 
organization  and  government  of  this  newly  acquired 
territory.     The  ordinance  created  a  territo- 

*'  TheOrdi- 

rial   government   with    governor   and    two-  nance  of 
chambered  legislature,    courts,    magistrates, 
and  militia.     Complete  civil  and  religious  liberty  was 
guaranteed,   negro   slavery  was  prohibited,   and  pro- 
vision was  made  for  free  schools.^ 

In  1803  the  enormous  territory  known  as  Louisiana, 
comprising  everything  (except  Texas)    between  the 

^  The  manner  in  which  provision  should  be  made  for  these 
schools  had  been  pointed  out  two  years  before  in  the  land- ordi- 
nance of  1785,  as  heretofore  explained.     See  above,  p.  86. 


254  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

Mississippi  River  and  the  crest  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, was  purchased  from  France.  A  claim  upon  the 
Oregon  territory  was  soon  afterward  made  by  discov- 
ery and  exploration,  and  finally  settled  in  1846  by 
treaty  with  Great  Britain.  In  1848  by  conquest  and 
in  1853  by  purchase  the  remaining  Pacific  lands  were 
acquired  from  Mexico.  All  of  this  vast  region  has 
been  at  some  time  imder  territorial  government.  As 
other  terri-  ^^^  Tcxas,  ou  tlic  othcr  hand,  it  has  never 
theirgov-  been  a  territory.  Texas  revolted  from  Mex- 
ernment.  -^q  -j^  1836  and  remained  an  independent 
state  until  1845,  when  it  was  admitted  to  the  Union. 
Territorial  government  has  generally  passed  through 
three  stages :  first,  there  are  governors  and  judges 
appointed  by  the  president ;  then  as  population  in- 
creases, there  is  added  a  legislature  chosen  by  the 
people  and  empowered  to  make  laws  subject  to  con- 
firmation by  Congress  ;  finally,  entire  legislative  inde- 
pendence is  granted.  The  territory  is  then  ripe  for 
admission  to  the  Union  as  a  state. 

QUESTIONS    ON   THE   TEXT. 

1.  What   is    the    constitutional    provision   for   admitting   new 

states  ? 

2.  What  states  claimed  the   territory   northwest  of  the  Ohio 

river  ?     On  what  did  they  base  their  claims  ? 

3.  Why  was  this  territory  ceded  to  the  general  government  ? 

4.  What  states  have  since  been  made  out  of  this  territory  ? 

5.  What  was  the  Ordinance  of  1787  ? 

6.  What  were  the  principal  provisions  of  this  ordinance  ? 

7.  Give  an  account  of  the  Louisiana  purchase  ? 

8.  Give  an  account  of  the  acquisition  of  the  Oregon  territory. 

9.  Give  an  account  of  the  acquisition  of  the  remaining  Pacific 

lands. 

10.  IIow  came  Texas  to  belong  to  the  United  States  ? 

11.  How  much  of   the  public  domain  has   been  at  some  time 

under  territorial  government  ? 

12.  Through  what  three  stages  has  territorial  government  usually 

passed  ? 


RATIFICATION   AND  AMENDMENTS.        255 

§  7.  Ratification  and  Amendments. 

Thus  the  work  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787  was  in 
a  certain  sense  supplementary  to  the  work  of  framing 
the  Constitution.  When  the  latter  instrument  was 
completed,  it  was  provided  that  "  the  ratifications  of 
the  conventions  of  nine  states  shall  be  sufficient  for 
the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the 
states  so  ratifying  the  same."  The  Constitution  was 
then  laid  before  the  Continental  Congress,  which  sub- 
mitted it  to  the  states.  In  one  state  after  another, 
conventions  were  held,  and  at  length  the  Constitution 
was  ratified.  There  was  much  opposition  to  it,  because 
it  seemed  to  create  a  strange  and  untried  form  of  gov- 
ernment which  might  develop  into  a  tyranny.  There 
was  a  fear  that  the  federal  power  might  crush  out  self- 
government  in  the  states.  This  dread  was  felt  in  all 
parts  of  the  country.  Besides  this,  there  was  some  sec- 
tional opposition  between  North  and   South, 

-f-T-.       .     .        -,  •       c  Concessions 

and  in  Viroinia  there  was  a  party  in  favour  to  the 

PI  T^  South. 

of  a  separate  southern  coniederacy.  ±>ut 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  were  won  over  by  the  con- 
cessions in  the  Constitution  to  slavery,  and  especially 
a  provision  that  the  importation  of  slaves  from  Africa 
should  not  be  prohibited  until  1808.  By  winning 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  the  formation  of  a  "  solid 
South  "  was  prevented. 

The  first  states  to  adopt  the  Constitution  were  Dela- 
ware, Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Georgia,  and  Con- 
necticut, with  slight  opposition,  except  in  Pennsylvania. 
Next  came  Massachusetts,  where  the  convention  was 
very  large,  the  discussion  very  long,  and  the 
action    in    one    sense    critical.       One    chief   Rights  pro- 
source  of  dissatisfaction  was  the  absence  of 
a  sufficiently  explicit  Bill  of  Eights,  and  to  meet  this 


256  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

difficulty,  Massachusetts  ratified  the  Constitution,  but 
proposed  amendments,  and  this  course  was  followed 
by  other  states.  Maryland  and  South  Carolina  came 
next,  and  New  Hampshire  made  the  ninth.  Virginia 
and  New  York  then  ratified  by  very  narrow  majorities 
and  after  prolonged  discussion.  North  Carolina  did 
not  come  in  until  1789,  and  Rhode  Island  not  until 
1790. 

In  September,  1789,  the  first  ten  amendments  were 
proposed  by  Congress,  and  in  December,  1791,  they 
were  declared  in  force.  Their  provisions  are  similar 
to  those  of  the  English  Bill  of   Rights,  enacted  in 

1689,^  but  are  much  more  full  and  explicit. 
amend-         They  providc  for  freedom  of  speech  and  of 

the  press,  the  free  exercise  of  religion,  the 
right  of  the  people  to  assemble  and  petition  Congress 
for  a  redress  of  grievances,  their  right  to  bear  arms, 
and  to  be  secure  against  unreasonable  searches  and 
seizures.  The  quartering  of  soldiers  is  guarded,  gen- 
eral search-warrants  are  prohibited,  jury  trial  is  guar- 
anteed, and  the  taking  of  private  property  for  public 
use  without  due  compensation,  as  well  as  excessive 
fines  and  bail  and  the  infliction  of  "  cruel  and  unusual 
punishment"  are  forbidden.  Congress  is  prohibited 
from  establishing  any  form  of  religion. 

Finally,  it  is  declared  that  "  the  enumeration  of  cer- 
tain rights  shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage 
others  retained  by  the  people,"  and  that  "  the  powers 
not  granted  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution, 
nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  states,  are  reserved  to  the 
states  respectively,  or  to  the  people." 

1  See  above,  p.  190.  This  is  further  elucidated  in  Appen- 
dixes B  and  D. 


A   FEW   WORDS  ABOUT  POLITICS.         257 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE   TEXT. 

1 .  What  provision  did  the  Constitution  make  for  its  own  ratifi- 

cation ? 

2.  What  was  the  general  method  of  ratification  in  the  states  ? 

3.  On  what  general  grounds  did  the  opposition  to  the  Constitu- 

tion seem  to  be  based  ? 

4.  By  what  feature  in  the  Constitution  was  the  support  of  South 

Carolina  and  Georgia  assured  ?     Why  was  this  support 
deemed  peculiarly  desirable  ? 

5.  What  five  states  ratified  the  Constitution  with  little  or  no 

opposition  ? 

6.  What  was  the  objection  of  Massachusetts  and   some  other 

states  to  the  Constitution  ?     What  course,  therefore,  did 
they  adopt  ? 

7.  What  three  states  after  Massachusetts  by  their  ratification 

made  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  secure  ? 

8.  What  four  states  subsequently  gave  in  their  support  ? 

9.  Give  an  account  of  the  adoption  of    the  first  ten   amend- 

ments. 

10.  For  what  do  these  amendments  provide  ? 

1 1 .  What  powers  are  reserved  to  the  states  ? 

§  8.  ^  I^ew  Words  about  Politics. 

A  chief  source  of  the  opposition  to  the  new  federal 
government  was  the  dread  of  federal  taxation.  People 
who  found  it  hard  to  pay  their  town,  county,  Federal 
and  state  taxes  felt  that  it  would  be  ruinous  *^''''^"''^- 
to  have  to  pay  still  another  kind  of  tax.  In  the  mere 
fact  of  federal  taxation,  therefore,  they  were  inclined 
to  see  tyranny.  With  people  in  such  a  mood  it  was 
necessary  to  proceed  cautiously  in  devising  measures 
of  federal  taxation. 

This  was  well  understood  by  our  first  secretary  of 
the  treasury,  Alexander  Hamilton,  and  in  the  course 
of  his  administration  of  the  treasury  he  was  once 
roughly  reminded  of  it.  The  two  methods  of  federal 
taxation  adopted  at  his  suggestion  were  duties  on  im- 
ports and  excise  on  a  few  domestic  products,  such  as 


258  THE   FEDERAL    UNION. 

whiskey  and  tobacco.     The  excise,  being  a  tax  which 
people  could  see  and  feel,  was  very  unpopu- 

Eicise.  ,  ,       .  -irrr\A         1  'i-  'i        • 

lar,  and  in  1794  the  opposition  to  it  m 
western  Pennsylvania  grew  into  the  famous  "  Whiskey 
Insurrection,"  against  which  President  Washington 
thought  it  prudent  to  send  an  army  of  16,000  men,  — 
as  many  as  he  had  commanded  at  Yorktown  when  he 
captured  the  army  of  Lord  Cornwallis.  This  formid- 
able display  of  federal  power  suppressed  the  insurrec- 
tion without  bloodshed. 

Nowhere  was  there  any  such  violent  opposition  to 
Hamilton's  scheme  of  custom-house  duties  on  imported 
goods.  This  is  a  very  easy  method  of  taxation,  some- 
times perhaps  too  easy.  It  is  indirect  taxation.  The 
people  do  not  flock  to  the  custom-house  and  pay  the 
duty,  but  the  importer  pays  it  and  then  reimburses 
himself  by  adding'  the  amount  of  the  duty 

Tariff.  jo  -j 

to  the  price  of  the  goods  on  which  he  has 
paid  it.  In  this  way  vast  sums  of  money  can  be  taken 
from  people's  pockets  without  their  realizing  it  as 
they  would  realize  a  direct  tax.  When  a  tax  is 
wrapped  up  in  the  extra  fifty  cents  paid  to  a  merchant 
for  a  yard  of  foreign  cloth,  it  is  so  effectually  hidden 
that  most  people  do  not  know  it  is  there.  Hence  the 
tariff  has  been  our  favourite  device  for  obtaining  a 
national  revenue.  During  our  Civil  War  the  national 
government  resorted  to  direct  taxation,  chiefly  in  the 
form  of  revenue  stamps,  though  it  also  put  a  tax  upon 
billiard-tables,  pianos,  gold  watches,  and  all  sorts  of 
things.  But  in  ordinary  times,  when  we  think  of  our 
tax-bill,  we  think  of  that  which  we  pay  to  our  town 
collector  for  town,  county,  and  state  purposes.  To 
the  national  government  we  do  not  seem  to  be  paying 
anything,  but  we  do  pay  a  groat  deal.  Direct  taxa- 
tion bears  most  heavily  upon  wealthy  people,  while  the 


A   FEW   WORDS  ABOUT  POLITICS.         259 

tariff  bears  most  heavily  upon  the  poor ;  aucl,  how- 
ever it  may  be  with  very  rich  people,  it  is  probable 
that  persons  of  small  or  moderate  means  pay  out  much 
larger  sums  each  year  on  account  of  the  tariff  than  on 
account  of  their  direct  taxes. 

Hamilton's  measures  as  secretary  of  the  treasury 
embodied  an  entire  system  of  public  policy,  and  the 
opposition  to  them  residted  in  the  formation  of  the 
two  political  parties  into  which,  under  one  name  or 
another,  the  American  people  have  at  most  origin  of 
times  been  divided.  Hamilton's  opponents,  pouuc^par- 
led  by  Jefferson,  objected  to  his  principal  *'^^ 
measures  that  they  assumed  powers  in  the  national 
government  which  were  not  granted  to  it  by  the  Con- 
stitution. Hamilton  then  fell  back  upon  the  Elastic 
Clause  ^  of  the  Constitution,  and  maintained  that  such 
powers  were  implied  in  it.  Jefferson  held  that  this 
doctrine  of  "  implied  powers  "  stretched  the  Elastic 
Clause  too  far.  He  held  that  the  Elastic  Clause  ought 
to  be  construed  strictly  and  narrowly ;  Hamilton  held 
that  it  ought  to  be  construed  loosely  and  liberally. 
Hence  the  names  "  strict-constructionist  "  and  "loose- 
constructionist,"  which  mark  perhaps  the  most  pro- 
found and  abiding  antagonism  in  the  history  of 
American  politics. 

Practically  all  will  admit  that  the  Elastic  Clause,  if 
construed  strictly,  ought  not  to  be  construed  too 
narrowly ;  and,  if  construed  liberally,  ought  not  to  be 
construed  too  loosely.  Neither  party  has  been  con- 
sistent in  applying  its  principles,  but  in  the  main  we 
can  call  Hamilton  the  founder  of  the  Federalist  party, 
which  has  had  for  its  successors  the  National  Republi- 
cans of  1828,  the  Whigs  of  1833  to  1852,  and  the  Re- 
publicans  of  1854  to  the  present  time ;  while  we  can  call 
1  Article  I.,  section  viii.,  clause  18  ;  see  above,  p.  245. 


260  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

Jefferson  the  founder  of  the  party  which  called  itself 
Republican  from  about  1792  to  about  1828,  and  since 
then  has  been  known  as  the  Democratic  party.  This 
is  rather  a  rough  description  in  view  of  the  real  com- 
plication of  the  historical  facts,  but  it  is  an  approxi- 
mation to  the  truth. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  here  to  give  a  sketch  of  the 

history  of  American  parties.    Such  a  sketch,  if  given  in 

due  relative  proportion,  would  double  the  size  of  this 

little  book,  of  which  the  main  purpose  is  to  treat  of 

civil  government  in  the  United  States  with 

Tariff,  In-  ° 

ternai  im-      refcrcnce  to  its  oriqins.    But  it  may  here  be 

provements,  .  -,     .  -,  .  . 

and  National  said  in  general  that  the  practical  questions 
which  have  divided  the  two  great  parties 
have  been  concerned  with  the  powers  of  the  national 
government  as  to  (1)  the  Tariff ;  (2)  the  making 
of  roads,  improving  rivers  and  harbours,  etc.,  under 
the  general  head  of  Internal  Improvements  ;  and  (3) 
the  establishment  of  a  National  Banh^  with  the  na- 
tional government  as  partner  holding  shares  in  it  and 
taking  a  leading  part  in  the  direction  of  its  affairs. 
On  the  question  of  such  a  national  bank  the  Demo- 
cratic party  achieved  a  complete  and  decisive  victory 
under  President  Tyler.  On  the  question  of  internal 
improvements  the  opposite  party  still  holds  the 
ground,  but  most  of  its  details  have  been  settled  by 
the  great  development  of  the  powers  of  private  enter- 
prise during  the  past  sixty  years,  and  it  is  not  at 
present  a  "  burning  question."  The  question  of  the 
tariff,  however,  remains  to-day  as  a  "  burning  ques- 
tion," but  it  is  no  longer  argued  on  grounds  of  con- 
stitutional law,  but  on  grounds  of  political  economy. 
Hamilton's  construction  of  the  Elastic  Clause  has  to 
this  extent  prevailed,  and  mainly  for  the  reason  that  a 
liberal  construction  of  that  clause  was  needed  in  order 


A    FEW   WORDS  ABOUT  POLITICS.         2G1 

to  give  the  national  government  enovigli  power  to  re- 
strict the  spread  of  slavery  and  suppress  the  great 
rebellion  of  which  slavery  was  the  exciting  cause. 

Another  political  question,  more  important,  if  pos- 
sible, than  that  of  the  Tariff,  is  to-day  tlie  question  of 
the  reform  of  the  Civil  Service ;  but  it  is  cj^jj  service 
not  avowedly  made  a  party  question.  Twenty  ^®^°'™- 
years  ago  both  parties  laughed  at  it ;  now  both  try  to 
treat  it  with  a  show  of  respect  and  to  render  unto  it 
lip-homage  ;  and  the  control  of  the  immediate  political 
future  probably  lies  with  the  party  which  treats  it 
most  seriously.  It  is  a  question  that  was  not  distinctly 
foreseen  in  the  days  of  Hamilton  and  Jefferson,  when 
the  Constitution  was  made  and  adopted  ;  otherwise, 
one  is  inclined  to  believe,  the  framers  of  the  Consti- 
tution would  have  had  something  to  say  about  it. 
The  question  as  to  the  Civil  Service  arises  from  the 
fact  that  the  president  has  the  power  of  appointing 
a  vast  number  of  petty  officials,  chiefly  postmasters 
and  officials  concerned  witli  the  collection  of  the  fed- 
eral revenue.  Such  officials  have  properly  nothing  to 
do  with  politics ;  they  are  simjjly  the  agents  or  clerks 
or  servants  of  the  national  government  in  conducting 
its  business  ;  and  if  the  business  of  the  national  gov- 
ernment is  to  be  managed  on  such  ordinary  principles 
of  prudence  as  prevail  in  the  management  of  private 
business,  such  servants  ought  to  be  selected  for  per- 
sonal merit  and  retained  for  life  or  during  good  be- 
haviour. It  did  not  occur  to  our  earlier  pi-esidents  to 
regard  the  management  of  the  public  business  in  any 
other  light  than  this. 

But  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury a  vicious  system  was  growing  up  in  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania.  In  those  states  the  appointive 
offices  came  to  be  used  as  bribes  or  as  rewards  for 


262  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

partisan  services.     By  securing  votes  for  a  successful 
candidate,  a  man  with  little  in  his  pocket  and 

Origin  of  the  ,  ,  .  .,  i  i      i        • 

"spoUssys-    nothino-  111  particular  to  do  could  obtain  some 

tern." 

office  with  a  comfortable  salary.  It  would 
be  given  him  as  a  reward,  and  some  other  man,  per- 
haps more  competent  than  himself,  would  have  to  be 
turned  out  in  order  to  make  room  for  him.  A  more 
effective  method  of  driving  good  citizens  "  out  of  poli- 
tics "  could  hardly  be  devised.  It  called  to  the  front 
a  large  class  of  men  of  coarse  moral  fibre  who  greatly 
preferred  the  excitement  of  speculating  in  politics  to 
earning  an  honest  living  by  some  ordinary  humdrum 
business.  The  civil  service  of  these  states  was  se- 
riously damaged  in  quality,  politics  degenerated  into 
a  wild  scramble  for  offices,  salaries  were  paid  to  men 
who  did  little  or  no  public  service  in  return,  and  thus 
the  line  which  separates  taxation  from  robbery  was 
often  crossed. 

About  the  same  time  there  grew  up  an  idea  that 
there  is  something  especially  democratic,  and  there- 
fore meritorious,  about  "  rotation  in  office."  Govern- 
•'  Rotation  Hicnt  officcs  wcrc  regarded  as  plums  at  which 
in  office."  evcry  one  ought  to  be  allowed  a  chance  to 
take  a  bite.  The  way  was  prepared  in  1820  by  W.  H. 
Crawford,  of  Georgia,  who  succeeded  in  getting  the  law 
enacted  that  limits  the  tenure  of  office  for  postmasters, 
revenue  collectors,  and  other  servants  of  the  federal 
government  to  four  years.  The  importance  of  this 
measure  was  not  understood,  and  it  excited  very  little 
discussion  at  the  time.  The  next  presidential  election 
which  resulted  in  a  change  of  party  was  that  of  Jack- 
son in  1828,  and  then  the  methods  of  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania  were  applied  on  a  national  scale.  Jack- 
son cherished  the  absurd  belief  that  the  administration 
of  his  predecessor  Adams  had  been  corrupt,  and  he 


A   FEW   WORDS  ABOUT  POLITICS.         263 

turned  men  out  of  office  with  a  keen  zest.  During 
the  forty  years  between  Washington's  first  inaugura- 
tion and  Jackson's  the  total  number  of  removals  from 
office  was  74,  and  out  of  this  number  5  were  default- 
ers. During  the  first  year  of  Jackson's  administra- 
tion the  number  of  changes  made  in  the  xhe"  spoils 
civil  service  was  about  2,000.i  Such  was  ^ZlfrnH 
the  abrupt  inauguration  upon  a  national  *'*'°'''- 
scale  of  the  so-called  "  spoils  system."  The  phrase 
originated  with  W.  L.  Marcy,  of  New  York,  who  in 
a  speech  in  the  senate  in  1831  declared  that  "  to  the 
victors  belong  the  spoils."  The  man  who  said  this 
of  course  did  not  realize  that  he  was  making  one  of 
the  most  shameful  remarks  recorded  in  history.  There 
was,  however,  much  aptness  in  his  phrase,  inasmuch 
as  it  was  a  confession  that  the  business  of  American 
politics  was  about  to  be  conducted  on  principles  fit 
only  for  the  warfare  of  barbarians. 

In  the  canvass  of  1840  the  Whigs  promised  to  re- 
form the  civil  service,  and  the  promise  brought  them 
many  Democratic  votes ;  but  after  they  had  won  the 
election,  they  followed  Jackson's  example.  The 
Democrats  followed  in  the  same  way  in  1845,  and 
from  that  time  down  to  1885  it  was  customary  at  each 
change  of  party  to  make  a  "  clean  sweep  "  of  the 
offices.  Soon  after  the  Civil  War  the  evils  of  the 
system  began  to  attract  serious  attention  on  the  part 
of  thoughtful  people.  The  "  spoils  system "  has 
helped  to  sustain  all  manner  of  abominations,  from 
grasping  monopolies  and  civac  jobbery  down  to  po- 
litical rum-shops.  The  virus  runS  through  everything, 
and  the  natural  tendency  of  the  evil  is  to  grow  with 
the  growth  of  the  country. 

In   1883   Congress  passed  the   Civil  Service   Act, 
^  Smiiner's  Jackson,  p.  147. 


204  THE  FEDERAL   UNION. 

allowing  the  president  to  select  a  board  of  examiners 
and  make   appointments  upon  their  recom- 

The  Civil 

Service  Act     mcndation.     Candidates  for  office  are   sub- 

ofl883.  .  .   .  .         . 

jected  to  an  easy  competitive  examination. 
The  system  has  worked  well  in  other  countries,  and 
under  Presidents  Arthur  and  Cleveland  it  was  applied 
to  a  considerable  part  of  the  civil  service.  It  has  also 
been  adopted  in  some  states  and  cities.  The  oppo- 
nents of  reform  object  to  the  examination  that  it  is 
not  always  intimately  connected  with  the  work  of  the 
office,^  but,  even  if  this  were  so,  the  merit  of  the  sys- 
tem lies  in  its  removal  of  the  offices  from  the  category 
of  things  known  as  "  patronage."  It  relieves  the 
president  of  much  needless  work  and  wearisome  im- 
portunity. The  president  and  the  heads  of  depart- 
ments apjjoint  (in  many  cases,  through  subordinates) 
about  115,000  officials.  It  is  therefore  impossible  to 
know  much  about  their  character  or  competency.  It 
becomes  necessary  to  act  by  advice,  and  the  advice  of 
an  examining  board  is  sure  to  be  much  better  than 
the  advice  of  political  schemers  intent  upon  getting 
a  salaried  office  for  their  needy  friends.  The  ex- 
amination system  has  made  a  fair  beginning  and  will 
doubtless  be  gradually  improved  and  made  more  strin- 
gent. Something  too  has  been  done  toward  stopping 
two  old  abuses  attendant  upon  political  canvasses,  — 
(1)  forcing  government  clerks,  under  penalty  of  losing 
their  places,  to  contribute  part  of  their  salaries  for 
election  purposes  ;   (2)  allowing  government  clerks  to 

^  The  objection  that  the  examination  questions  are  irrelevant 
to  the  work  of  the  office  is  often  made  tlie  occasion  of  gross  ex- 
aggeration. I  have  given,  in  Appendix  I,  an  average  samjjle  of 
the  examination  papers  used  in  the  customs  service.  It  is  taken 
from  Conistoek's  Civil  Service  in  the  United  States,  New  York, 
Ilolt  &  Co.,  ISSv"*,  an  oxccllont  manual  witli  very  full  particulars. 


A    FEW    WORDS  ABOUT  POLITICS.         2G5 

neglect  their  work  iu  order  to  take  an  active  part  in 
the  canvass.  Before  the  reform  of  the  civil  service 
can  be  completed,  however,  it  will  be  necessary  to  re- 
peal Crawford's  act  of  1820  and  make  the  tenure  of 
postmasters  and  revenue  collectors  as  secure  as  that  of 
the  chief  justice  of  the  United  States. 

Another  jjolitical  reform  which  promises  excellent 
results  is  the  adoption  by  many  states  of  some  form 
of  the  Australian  baUot-system,  for  the  pur- 

i-       1        1  •  .       .      .  1      .  1     1     •,  TheAustra- 

pose  ot   checking  intimidation  and    bribery  lianbaiiot- 

SVStGlU 

at  elections.  The  ballots  are  printed  by  the 
state,  and  contain  the  names  of  all  the  candidates  of 
all  the  parties.  Against  the  name  of  each  candidate 
the  party  to  which  he  belongs  is  designated,  and 
against  each  name  there  is  a  small  vacant  space  to  be 
filled  with  a  cross.  At  the  polling-place  the  ballots 
are  kept  in  an  inclosure  behind  a  railing,  and  no  bal- 
lot can  be  brought  outside  under  penalty  of  fine  or 
imprisonment. 1  One  ballot  is  nailed  against  the  wall 
outside  the  railing,  so  that  it  may  be  read  at  leisure. 
The  space  behind  the  railing  is  divided  into  separate 
booths  quite  screened  from  each  other.  Each  booth 
is  provided  with  a  pencil  and  a  convenient  shelf  on 
which  to  write.  The  voter  goes  behind  the  railing, 
takes  the  ballot  which  is  handed  him,  carries  it  into 
one  of  the  booths,  and  marks  a  cross  against  the 
names  of  the  candidates  for  whom  he  votes.  He  then 
puts  his  ballot  into  the  box,  and  his  name  is  checked 
off  on  the  register  of  voters  of  the  precinct.  This  sys- 
tem is  very  simple,  it  enables  a  vote  to  be  given  in 
absolute  secrecy,  and  it  keeps  "  heelers "  away  from 

1  Tliis  is  a  brief  description  of  the  system  lately  adopted  in 
Massachusetts.  The  penalty  here  mentioned  is  a  fine  not  ex- 
ceeding a  thousand  dollars,  or  imprisonment  not  exceeding  one 
year,  or  both  such  fine  and  such  imprisonment. 


266  THE    FEDERAL    UNION. 

the  polls.  It  is  favourable  to  intleijeudence  in  voting,^ 
and  it  is  unfavourable  to  bribery,  because  unless  the 
briber  can  follow  his  man  to  the  polls  and  see  how  he 
votes,  he  cannot  be  sure  that  his  bribe  is  effective. 
To  make  the  precautions  against  bribery  complete  it 
will  doubtless  be  necessary  to  add  to  the  secret  ballot 
the  English  system  of  accounting  for  election  ex- 
penses. All  the  funds  used  in  an  election  must  pass 
through  the  hands  of  a  small  local  committee,  vouch- 
ers must  be  received  for  every  penny  that  is  ex- 
pended, and  after  the  election  an  itemized  account 
must  be  made  out  and  its  accuracy  attested  under 
oath  before  a  notary  public.  This  system  of  account- 
ing has  put  an  end  to  bribery  in  England.^ 

Complaints  of  bribery  and  corruption  have  attracted 
especial  attention  in  the  United  States  during  the  past 
few  years,  and  it  is  highly  creditable  to  the  good  sense 
of  the  people  that  measures  of  2)revention  have  been 

^  It  is  especially  favourable  to  intlepeudence  in  voting,  if  the 
lists  of  the  candidates  are  placed  in  a  single  column,  without 
reference  to  party  (each  name  of  course,  having  the  proper 
party  designation,  "  Rep.,"  "  Dem.,"  "  Prohib.,"  etc.,  attached  to 
it).  In  such  case  it  must  necessarily  take  the  voter  some  little 
time  to  find  and  raark  each  name  for  which  he  wishes  to  vote. 
If,  however,  the  names  of  the  candidates  ai-e  arranged  according 
to  their  party,  all  the  Republicans  in  one  list,  all  the  Democrats 
in  another,  etc.,  this  arrangement  is  much  less  favourable  to  in- 
dependence in  voting  and  much  less  efficient  as  a  check  upon 
bribery  ;  because  the  man  who  votes  a  straight  party  ticket  will 
make  all  his  marks  in  a  very  short  time,  while  the  *'  scratcher," 
or  independent  voter,  will  consume  nnich  more  time  in  selecting 
his  n.ames.  Thus  people  interested  in  seeing  whether  a  man  is 
voting  the  straight  party  ticket  or  not  can  form  an  opinion  from 
the  lengtli  of  time  lie  spends  in  the  booth.  It  is,  therefore,  im- 
portant that  the  names  of  all  candidates  should  be  printed  in  a 
single  column. 

2  An  important  step  in  this  direction  has  been  taken  in  the 
New  York  Corrupt  Practices  Act  of  April,  1890.  See  Appendix  J. 


A    FEW    WORDS  ABOUT  POLITICS.         267 

so  promptly  adopted  by  so  many  states.  With  an  in- 
dependent and  uncoiTupted  ballot,  and  the  civil  service 
taken  "  out  of  politics,"  all  other  reforms  will  become 
far  more  easily  accomplished.  These  ends  will  pre- 
sently be  attained.  Popular  government  makes  many 
mistakes,  and  sometimes  it  is  slow  in  finding  them  out ; 
but  when  once  it  has  discovered  them  it  has  a  way  of 
correctino-  them.  It  is  the  best  kind  of  government 
in  the  world,  the  most  wisely  conservative,  the  most 
steadily  progressive,  and  the  most  likely  to  endure. 

QUESTIONS   ON   THE  TEXT. 

I .  What  was  a  chief  source  of  opposition  to  the  new  federal 

government  ? 
2  What  necessity  for  caution  existed  in  devising  methods  to 

raise  money  ? 

3.  Hamilton's  scheme  of  excise  :  — 

a.  The  things  on  wliich  excise  was  laid. 

b.  The  unpopularity  of  the  scheme. 

c.  The  "  Whiskey  Insurrection." 

d.  Its  suppression  by  Washington. 

4.  Hamilton's  tariff  scheme  :  — 

a.  The  things  on  which  duties  were  placed. 

b.  Popular  acquiescence  in  the  plan. 

c.  Direct  taxation  during  the  Civil  War. 

d.  The  thought  of  our  tax-bill  in  ordinary  times. 

e.  The   classes  upon  which  direct  and  indirect   methods  of 

taxation  respectively  bear. 

5 .  The  origin  of  American  political  parties  :  — 
a.  Jefferson's  objection  to  Hamilton's  policy. 
6.  Hamilton's  defence  of  his  policy. 

c.  Jefferson's  view  of  the  Elastic  Clause. 

d.  Hamilton's  view  of  the  Elastic  Clause. 

e.  Two  names  suggestive  of  an  abiding  antagonism  in  Ameri- 

can politics. 

f.  A  view  of  the  Elastic  Clause  that  commends  itself  to  all. 

g.  The  party  of  Hamilton  and  its  successors. 
h.  Tlie  party  of  Jefferson  and  its  successor. 

6.  Great  practical  questions  that  have  divided  parties  :  — 


268  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

a.  The  Tariff. 

h.  Internal  Improvements. 

c.  A  National  Bank. 

d.  The  present  attitude  towards  these  three  questions. 

e.  The  shifting  of  ground  in  arguing  the  taritf  question. 

f.  The  reason  for  this  change  of  base. 

7.  Civil  Service  reform  :  — 

a.  The  attitude  of  parties  a  few  years  ago. 

b.  The  present  attitude  of  the  same  parties. 

c.  A  question  not  foreseen. 

d.  The  number  of  officers  appointed. 

e.  The  non-political  nature  of  their  duties. 

/.  The  principles  that  should  prevail  in   their  selection  and 
service. 

8.  The  "  spoils  system  "  :  — 

a.  Early  appointive  officers  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 
h.  The  driving  of  good  citizens  out  of  politics. 
•  c.  The  character  of  the  men  called  to  the  front. 
d.  The  effect  on  civil  service  and  on  politics. 

9.  Rotation  in  office  :  — 

a.  A  new  idea  about  government  offices. 
h.  Crawford's  law  of  1820. 

c.  Failure  to  grasp  its  significance. 

d.  Jackson's  course  in  1829. 

e.  Removals  from  office  down  to  Jackson's  time. 

f.  Removals  during  the  first  year  of  Jackson's  administra- 

tion. 

g.  Origin  of  the  phrase,  "  spoils  system." 
h.  Promises  and  practice  down  to  1885. 

i.  The  evils  conspicuous  since  the  Civil  War. 

10.  The  Civil  Service  Act  of  1883. 
a.  A  board  of  examiners. 

h.  Competitive  examination  of  candidates. 

c.  The  spread  of  the  principles  of  the  reform. 

d.  The  merit  of  the  system. 

e.  Two  old  abuses  stopped. 
/.  Further  measures  needed. 

11.  The  Australian  ballot  system  :  — 
a.  The  object  of  this  system. 

h.  Tlie  printing  of  the  ballots. 

c.  What  a  ballot  contains. 

(/   Ballots  at  the  polling-places. 


A    FEW   WORDS  ABOUT  POLITICS.        269 

e.  The  booths. 

f.  The  manner  of  voting. 

g.  The  advantages  of  the  system. 

h.  An  additional  precaution  against  bribery. 

12.  What  is  the  attitude  of  the  people  towards  bribery  and  cor- 

ruption ? 

13.  What  reforms  must  be  accomplished  before  others  can  make 

much  headway  ? 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS   AND   DIRECTIONS. 

1.  How  much   money  is  needed  by  the  United  States  govern- 

ment for  the  expenses  of  a  year  ?  How  much  is  needed 
for  the  army,  the  navy,  the  interest  on  the  public  debt, 
pensions,  rivers  and  harbours,  ordinary  civil  expenses, 
etc.  ?     (Answer  for  any  recent  year.) 

2.  From  what   sources   does  the  revenue   come  ?      Tell   how 

much  revenue  each  of  the  several  sources  has  yielded  in 
any  recent  year. 

3.  What  is  the  origin  of  the  word  tariff? 

4.  What  is  meant  hj  protection  ?     What  is  meant  hy  free  trade  ? 

What  is  meant  by  a  tariff  for  revenue  only  ?  What  is 
meant  by  reciprocity  f     Give  illustrations. 

5.  What  are  some  of  the  reasons  assigned  for  protection  ? 

6.  What  are  some  of  the  reasons  assigned  for  free  trade  ? 

7.  Which  policy  prevails  among  the  states  tliemselves  ? 

8.  Which  policy  prevails  between  the  United  States  and  other 

nations  ? 

9.  Mention  all  the  kinds  of  United  States  money  in  circula- 

tion. Bring  into  the  class  a  national  bank  bill,  a  gold 
certificate,  a  silver  certificate,  any  piece  that  is  used  as 
money,  and  inquire  wherein  its  value  lies,  what  it  can  or 
cannot  be  used  for,  what  the  United  States  will  or  will 
not  give  in  exchange  for  it,  and  whether  it  is  worth  its 
face  in  gold  or  not. 

10.  Is  it  right  to  buy  silver  at  seventy-five  cents  and  then  put  it 

into  circulation  stamped  a  dollar,  the  Government  receiv- 
ing the  profit?    Can  you  get  a  gold  dollar  for  a  silver  one? 

11.  Is  a  promise  to  pay  a  dollar  a  real  dollar?     May  it  be  as 

good  as  a  dollar  ?     If  so,  under  what  conditions  ? 

1 2.  If  gold  were  as  common  as  gravel,  what  characteristics  of  it 

universally  recognized  would  remain  unchanged  ?  What 
would  become  of  its  purchasing  power,  if  it  cost  little  or 


270  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

no  labour  to  obtain  it  ?  Why  is  it  accepted  as  a  standard 
of  value  ? 

13.  During  the  Civil  War  gold  was  said  to  fluctuate  in  value, 

because  it  took  two  dollars  of  paper  money,  sometimes 
more,  sometimes  less,  to  buy  one  dollar  in  gold.  Where 
was  the  real  changing  ?     What  was  the  cause  of  it  ? 

14.  What  men  are  at  the  head  of  the  national  government  at  the 

present  time  ?  (Think  of  the  executive  department  and 
its  primary  divisions,  the  legislative  department,  and  the 
judicial.) 

1 5.  What  salaries  are  paid  these  officers  ?     Compare  American 

salaries  with  European  salaries  for  corresponding  high 
positions. 

16.  Should  a  president  serve  a  second  term  ?     What  is  the  ad- 

vantage of  such  service  ?  What  is  the  objection  to  it  ? 
Is  a  single  term  of  six  years  desirable  ? 

1 7.  Ought  the  president  to  be  elected  directly  by  the  people  ? 

18.  Name  in  order  the  persons  entitled  to  succeed  to  the  presi- 

dency in  case  of  vacancy. 

19.  Who  is  your  representative  in  Congress  ? 

20.  Who  are  your  senators  in  Congress  '? 

21.  What  is  the  pay  of  members  of  Congress  ?     Who  determine 

the  compensation  ?     What  is  there  to  prevent  lavish  or 


improper  pay 


9 


22.  There  is  said  to  be   "log-rolling"  in  legislation  at   times. 

What  is  the  nature  of  this  practice  ?     Is  it  right  ? 

23.  Is  the    senator    or  the   representative    of   higher    dignity? 

Why? 

24.  Why  should  members  of  Congress  be  exempted  from  arrest 

in  certain  cases  ? 

25.  Find  authority  in  the  Constitution  for  various  things  that 

Congress  has  done,  such  as  the  following  :  — 
a.  It  has  established  a  military  academy  at  West  Point. 
h.  It  has  given  public  lands  to  Pacific  railroads. 

c.  It  has  authorized  uniforms  for  letter  carriers. 

d.  It  has  ordered  surveys  of  the  coast. 

e.  It  has  established  the  Yellowstone  National  Park. 

f.  It  has  voted  millions  of  dollars  for  pensions. 

g.  It  refused  during  the  Civil  War  to  pay  its  promises  with 

silver  or  gold. 
h.  It  bought  Alaska  of  Russia. 
i.  It  has  adopted  exclusive  measures  towards  the  Chinese. 


A    FEW   WORDS  ABOUT  POLITICS.        271 

26.  Reverse  the  preceding  exercise.     That  is,  cite  clauses  of  the 

Constitution,  and  tell  what  particular  things  Congress  has 
done  because  of  such  authority.  For  example,  what 
specific  things  have  been  done  under  the  following  pow- 
ers of  Congress  ?  — 

a.  To  collect  taxes. 

b.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations. 

c.  To  coin  money. 

d.  To  establish  post-roads. 

e.  To  provide  for  the  common  defence. 

f.  To  provide  for  the  general  welfare. 

27.  Compare  the  strength  of  the  national  government   to-day 

with  its  strength  in  the  past. 

28.  Who  are  citizens  according  to  the  Constitution  ?    Is  a  woman 

a  citizen  ?  Is  a  child  a  citizen  ?  Are  Indians  citizens  ? 
Are  foreigners  residing  in  this  country  citizens  ?  Are 
children  born  abroad  of  American  parents  citizens  ?  Can 
one  person  be  a  citizen  of  two  nations  at  the  same  time, 
or  of  two  states,  or  of  two  towns  ?     Explain. 

29.  To  what  laws  is  an  American  vessel  on  the  ocean  subject  ? 

30.  Show  how  the  interests  and  needs  of  the  various  sections  of 

the  country  present  wide  differences.  Compare  mining 
sections  with  agricultural,  and  both  with  manufacturing  ; 
Pacific  states  with  Atlautic  ;  Northern  states  with  South- 
ern.    What  need  of  mutual  consideration  exists  ? 

31.  I^ame  all  the  political  divisions  from  the  smallest  to  the  great- 

est in  which  you  live.  A  Cambridge  (Mass.)  boy  might, 
for  example,  say,  "  I  live  in  the  third  precinct  of  the  first 
ward,  in  the  first  Middlesex  representative  district,  the 
third  Middlesex  senatorial  district,  the  third  councillor 
district,  and  the  fifth  congressional  district.  My  city  is 
Cambridge  ;  my  county,  Middlesex,  etc."  Name  the 
various  persons  who  represent  you  in  these  several  dis- 
tricts. 

32.  May  state  and  local  officers  exercise  authority  on  United 

States  government  territory,  as,  for  example,  within  the 
limits  of  an  arsenal  or  a  custom-house  ?  May  national  gov- 
ernment officers  exercise  authority  in  states  and  towns  ? 

33.  What  is  a  sovereign  state  ?     Is  New  York  a  sovereign  state  ? 

the  United  States  ?  the  Dominion  of  Canada  ?  Great 
Britain  ?     Explain. 

34.  When  sovereign  nations  disagree,  how  can  a  settlement  be 


272  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

effected  ?     What  is  the  best  way  to  settle  such  a  dis- 
agreement ?      Ilhistrate    from    history   the   methods   of 
negotiation,  of  arbitration,  and  of  war. 
35.  When  two  states  of  the  Federal  Union  disagree,  what  solu- 
tion of  the  difficulty  is  possible  ? 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE. 


The  Federal  Union.  —  For  the  origin  of  our  federal  con- 
stitution, see  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  final  edition, 
vol.  vi.,  N.  Y.,  1886  ;  Curtis's  History  of  the  Constitution,  2  vols., 
N.  Y.,  1861,  new  edition,  vol.  i.,  1889  ;  and  my  Critical  Period  of 
American  History,  Boston,  1888,  with  copious  references  in  the 
bibliographical  note  at  the  end.  Once  more  we  may  refer  ad- 
vantageously to  /.  H.  U.  Studies,  II.,  v.-vi.,  H.  C.  Adams,  Tax- 
ation in  the  United  States,  1789-1816  ;  VIII.,  i.-ii.,  A.  W.  Small, 
The  Beginnings  of  American  Nationality.  See  also  Jameson's 
Essays  in  the  Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States  in  the 
Formative  Period,  1775-1789,  Boston,  1889,  a  very  valuable  book. 

On  the  progress  toward  union  during  the  colonial  period,  see 
especially  Frothingham's  Rise  of  the  Republic  of  the  United 
States,  Boston,  1872  ;  also  Scott's  Development  of  Constitutional 
Liberty  in  the  English  Colonies  of  America,  N.  Y.,  1882. 

By  far  the  ablest  and  most  thorough  book  on  the  government 
of  the  United  States  that  has  ever  been  published  is  Bryee's 
American  Commomvealth,  2  vols.,  London  and  N.  Y.,  1888.  No 
American  citizen's  education  is  properly  completed  until  he  has 
read  the  whole  of  it  carefully.  In  connection  therewith,  the 
work  of  Tocqueville,  Democracy  in  America,  2  vols.,  6th  ed., 
Boston,  1876,  is  interesting.  The  Scotchman  describes  and  dis- 
cusses the  American  commonwealth  of  to-day,  the  Frenchman 
that  of  sixty  years  ago.  There  is  an  instructive  difference  in 
the  methods  of  the  two  writers,  Tocqueville  being  inclined  to 
draw  deductions  from  ingenious  generalizations  and  to  explain 
as  natural  results  of  democracy  sundry  American  characteristics 
that  require  a  different  explanation.  His  great  work  is  admira- 
bly reviewed  and  criticised  by  Brj^ce,  in  the  J.  H.  U.  Studies,  V., 
ix.,  The  Predictions  of  Hamilton  and  De  Tocqueville. 

The  following  manuals  may  be   recommended  :  Thorpe,  The 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTE.  273 

Government  of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  Phila.,  1889  ;  Mar- 
tin's Text  Book  on  Civil  Government  in  the  United  States,  N.  Y. 
and  Chicago,  1875  (written  witli  special  reference  to  Massachu- 
setts) ;  Northam's  Manual  of  Civil  Government,  Syracuse,  1887 
(written  with  special  reference  to  New  York)  ;  Ford's  American 
Citizen's  Manual,  N.  Y.,  1887  ;  Rupert's  Guide  to  the  Study  of 
the  History  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Boston,  1888  ; 
Andrews's  Manual  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Cin- 
cinnati, 1874  ;  Miss  Dawes,  Hoiv  we  are  Governed,  Boston,  1888  ; 
Macy,  Our  Government :  How  it  Grew,  What  it  Does,  and  How  it 
Doss  it,  Boston,  1887.  The  last  is  especially  good,  and  mingles 
narrative  with  exposition  in  an  unusually  interesting  way.  Nord- 
hoff's  Politics  for  Young  Americans,  N.  Y.,  1887,  is  a  book  that 
ouglit  to  be  read  by  all  young  Americans  for  its  robust  and  sound 
political  pliilosophy.  It  is  suitable  for  boys  and  girls  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  years  old.  C.  F.  Dole's  The  Citizen  and  the 
Neighbour,  Boston,  1887,  is  a  suggestive  and  stimulating  little 
book.  For  a  comparative  survey  of  governmental  institutions, 
ancient  and  modern,  see  Woodrow  Wilson's  The  State :  El- 
ements of  Historical  and  Practical  Politics,  Boston,  1889.  An 
enormous  mass  of  matter  is  compressed  into  this  volume,  and, 
although  it  inevitably  suffers  somewhat  from  extreme  conden- 
sation, it  is  so  treated  as  to  be  both  readable  and  instructive. 
The  chapter  on  The  State  and  Federal  Governments  of  the  United 
States  has  been  published  sejiarately,  and  makes  a  convenient 
little  volume  of  131  pages.  Teachers  should  find  much  help  in 
MacAlister's  Syllabus  of  a  Course  of  Elementary  Instruction  in 
United  States  History  and  Civil  Government,  Phila.,  1887. 

Tlie  following  books  of  the  "  English  Citizen  Series,"  pub- 
lished by  Macmillan  &  Co.,  may  often  be  profitably  consulted  : 
M.  D.  Chalmers,  Local  Government ;  H.  D.  Traill,  Central  Gov- 
ernment ;  F.  W.  Maitland,  Justice  and  Police  ;  Spencer  Walpole, 
The  Electorate  and  the  Legislature;  A.J.Wilson,  The  National 
Budget ;  T.  H.  Farrer,  The  State  in  its  Relations  to  Trade  ;  W. 
S.  Jevons,  The  State  in  its  Relations  to  Labour.  The  works  on 
the  English  Constitution  by  Stubbs,  Gneist,  Taswell-Lang- 
mead.  Freeman,  and  Bagehot  are  indispensable  to  a  thorough 
understanding  of  civil  government  in  the  United  States  :  Stubbs, 
Constitutional  History  of  England,  3  vols.,  London,  1875-78  ; 
Gneist,  History  of  the  English  Constitution,  2d  ed.,  2  vols.,  Lou- 
don, 1889  ;   Taswell-Langmead,  English  Constitutional  History, 


274  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

3d  ed.,  Boston,  1886  ;  Freeman,  The  Groivth  of  the  English  Con- 
stitution, London,  1872  ;  Bagehot,  The  English  Constitution,  re- 
vised ed.,  Boston,  1873.  An  admirable  book  in  this  connection 
is  Hannis  Taylor's  (of  Alabama)  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  Eng- 
lish Constitution,  Boston,  1889.  In  connection  with  Bagehot's 
English  Constitution  the  student  may  profitably  read  Woodrow 
Wilson's  Congressional  Government,  Boston,  1885,  and  A.  L. 
Lowell's  Essays  in  Government,  Boston,  1890.  See  also  Sir  H. 
Maine,  Popular  Government,  London,  1886  ;  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis  on 
The  Use  and  Abuse  of  Certain  Political  Terms,  London,  1832  ; 
Methods  of  Observation  and  Reasoning  in  Politics,  2  vols.,  London, 
1852  ;  and  Dialogue  on  the  Best  Form  of  Government,  London,  1863. 

Among  the  most  valuable  books  ever  written  on  the  proper 
sphere  and  duties  of  civil  government  are  Herbert  Spencer's 
Social  Statics,  London,  1851  ;  The  Study  of  Sociology,  9th  ed., 
London,  1880  ;  The  Man  versus  The  State,  London,  1884  ;  they 
are  all  reprinted  by  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York.  The  views 
expressed  in  Social  Statics  with  regard  to  the  tenure  of  land  are 
regarded  as  unsound  by  many  who  are  otherwise  in  entire  sym- 
pathy with  Mr.  Spencer's  views,  and  they  are  ably  criticised  in 
Bonhain's  Industrial  Liberty,  N.  Y  ,  1888.  A  book  of  great  merit, 
which  ought  to  be  reprinted  as  it  is  now  not  easy  to  obtain,  is 
Toulmin  Smith's  Local  Self-Government  and  Centralization,  Lou- 
don, 1851.  Its  point  of  view  is  sufficiently  indicated  by  the 
following  admirable  pair  of  maxims  (p.  12)  :  — 

"  Local  Self-government  is  that  system  of  Government  un- 
der which  the  greatest  number  of  minds,  knowing  the  most,  and 
having  the  fullest  opportunities  of  knowing  it,  about  the  special  mat- 
ter in  hand,  and  having  the  greatest  interest  in  its  ivell-working, 
have  the  management  of  it,  or  control  over  it. 

"  CENTiiAHZATiON  is  that  system  of  government  under  xohich  the 
smallest  number  of  minds,  and  those  knowing  the  least,  and  having 
the  fewest  opportunities  of  knowing  it,  about  the  special  mattgr  in 
hand,  and  having  the  smallest  interest  in  its  well-working,  hare  the 
management  of  it,  or  control  over  it." 

An  immense  amount  of  wretched  misgovernnient  would  be 
avoided  if  all  legislators  and  all  voters  would  engrave  these 
wliolesome  definitions  upon  their  minds.  In  connection  with  the 
books  just  mentioned  much  detailed  and  valuable  information 
may  be  found  in  the  collections  of  essays  edited  by  J.  W.  Pro- 
byn.  Local  Government  and  Taxation  [in  various  .countries], 
London,  1875  ;  Local   Government  and   Taxation  in  the   United 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE.  275 

Kingdom,  Loudon,  1882.    See  also  R.  T.  Ely's  Taxation  in  Amer- 
ican States  and  Cities,  N.  Y.,  1889. 

The  most  elaborate  work  on  our  political  history  is  that  of 
Hermann  von  Hoist,  Constitutional  and  Political  History  of  the 
United  States,  translated  from  the  German  by  J.  J.  Lalor,  vols, 
i.-vi.  (1787-1859),  Chicago,  1877-89.  In  spite  of  a  somewhat  too 
pronounced  partisafl  bias,  its  value  is  great.  See  also  Schouler's 
History  of  the  United  States  under  the  Constitution,  vols,  i.-iv. 
(1783-1847),  new  ed.,  N.  Y.,  1890.  The  most  useful  handbook, 
alike  for  teachers  and  for  pupils,  is  Alexander  Johnston's  His- 
tory of  American  Politics,  2d  ed.,  N.  Y.,  1882.  The  United  States, 
N.  Y.,  1889,  by  the  same  author,  is  also  excellent.  Every  school 
should  possess  a  copy  of  Lalor's  Cyclopcedia  of  Political  Science, 
Political  Economy,  and  the  Political  History  of  the  United  States, 
3  vols.,  Chicago,  1882-84.  The  numerous  articles  in  it  relating 
to  American  history  are  chiefly  by  Alexander  Johnston,  whose 
mastery  of  his  subject  was  simply  unrivalled.  His  death  in 
1889,  at  the  early  age  of  forty,  must  be  regarded  as  a  national 
calamity.  For  a  manual  of  constitutional  law,  Cooley's  General 
Principles  of  Constitutional  Law  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
Boston,  1880,  is  to  be  recommended.  The  reader  may  fitly  sup- 
plement his  general  study  of  civil  government  by  the  little  book 
of  E.  P.  Dole,  Talks  about  Law :  a  Popular  Statement  of  What 
our  Laio  is  and  How  it  is  to  be  Administered,  Boston,  1887. 

In  connection  with  the  political  history,  Stanwood's  History  of 
Presidential  Elections,  2d  ed.,  Boston,  1888,  will  be  found  useful. 
See  also  Lawton's  American  Caucus  System,  N.  Y.,  1885.  On 
the  general  subject  of  civil  service  reform,  see  Eaton's  Civil 
Service  in  Great  Britain:  a  History  of  Abuses  and  Reforms,  and 
their  Bearing  upon  American  Politics,  N.  Y.,  1880.  Comstock's 
Civil  Sei-vice  in  the  United  S'ates,  N.  Y.,  1885,  is  a  catalogue  of 
offi^jes,  with  full  account  of  civil  service  rules,  examinations, 
specimens  of  examination  papers,  etc.  ;  also  some  of  the  state 
rules,  as  in  New  York,  Massachusetts,  etc. 

I  would  here  call  attention  to  some  publications  by  the  Di- 
rectors of  the  Old  South  Studies  in  History  and  Politics,  — 
first,  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  with  Historical  and 
Bibliographical  Notes  and  Outlines  for  Study,  prepared  by  E.  D. 
Mead  (sold  by  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  Boston,  for  25  cents);  sec- 
ondly, the  Old  South  Leaflets,  furnished  to  schools  and  the  trade 


276  THE  FEDERAL    UNION. 

by  the  same  publishers,  at  5  cents  a  copy  or  S3.00  a  hundred. 
These  leaflets  are  for  the  most  part  re^jrints  of  imjjortant  original 
papers,  furnished  with  valuable  historical  and  bibliographical 
notes.  The  eighteen  issued  up  to  this  time  (July,  1890)  are  as 
follows  :  1.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  ;  2.  The  Ar- 
ticles of  Confederation  ;  3.  The  Declaration  of  Independence  ; 
4.  Washington's  Farewell  Address  ;  5.  Magna  Charta  ;  6.  Vane's 
"Healing  Question  ;  "  7.  Charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  1629  ; 
8.  Fundamental  Orders  of  Connecticut,  1039  ;  9.  Franklin's  Plan 
of  Union,  1754  ;  10.  Washington's  Inaugurals  ;  11.  Lincoln's 
Inaugurals  and  Emancipation  Proclamation  ;  12.  The  Federalist, 
Nos.  1  and  2  ;  13.  The  Ordinance  of  1787  ;  14.  The  Constitu- 
tion of  Ohio  ;  15.  Washington's  "  Legacy  "  ;  16.  Washington's 
Letter  to  Benjamin  Harrison,  Governor  of  Virginia,  on  the 
Opening  of  Communication  with  the  West  ;  17.  Verrazano's 
Voyage,  1524  ;  18.  Federal  Constitution  of  the  Swiss  Confedera- 
tion. 

Howard  Preston's  Documents  Illustrative  of  American  History, 
N.  y.,  1880,  contains  the  following  :  First  Virginia  Charter, 
1606  ;  Second  Virginia  Charter,  1609  ;  Third  Virginia  Charter, 
1612  ;  Mayflower  Compact,  1620  ;  Massachusetts  Charter,  1629  ; 
Maryland  Charter,  1032  ;  Fundamental  Orders  of  Connecticut, 
1039  ;  New  England  Confederation,  1043  ;  Connecticut  Chartei', 
1062  ;  Rhode  Island  Charter,  1663  ;  Pennsylvania  Charter, 
1681  ;  Penn's  Plan  of  Union,  1697  ;  Georgia  Charter,  1732  ; 
Franklin's  Plan  of  Union,  1754  ;  Declaration  of  Rights,  1765  ; 
Declaration  of  Rights,  1774  ;  Non-Importation  Agreement,  1774  ; 
Virginia  Bill  of  Rights,  1776 ;  Declaration  of  Independence, 
1776  ;  Articles  of  Confederation,  1777  ;  Treaty  of  Peace,  1783  ; 
Northwest  Ordinance,  1787  ;  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
1787  ;  Alien   and   Sedition    Laws,  1798  ;  Virginia  Resolutions, 

1798  ;    Kentucky    Resolutions,    1798  ;    Kentucky    Resolutions, 

1799  ;  Nullification  Ordinance,  1832  ;  Ordinance  of  Secesg,ion, 
1860  ;  South  Carolina  Declaration  of  Independence,  1860  ;  Eman- 
cipation Proclamation,  1803. 

See  also  Poore's  Federal  and  State  Constitutions,  Colonial 
Charters,  and  other  Organic  Laws  of  the  United  Slates,  2  vols., 
Washington,  1877. 

The  series  of  essays  entitled  The  Federalist,  written  by  Hamil- 
ton, Madison,  and  Jay,  in  1787-88,  while  the  ratification  of  the 
Constitution  was  in  question,  will  always  remain  indispensable 


as  an  Iiitrc 
which  our  : 
tion  is  by  t 
elaborate  stu 
Constitution  Oj 
published  by  thi 
New  York,  1891 
sue  to  the  end  tbv 
ought  thereby  to  I 
For  very  pleasai 
the  formation  and  ; 
political  history  of  oi 
"  American  Statesmen  ., 
lished    by  Houghton,  Mifflin   &,   \^^. 
min  Franklin,  by  J.  T.  Morse  ;  Patrick  Hei 
Samuel  Adams,  hj  J.  K.  Hosmer  ;  George  Iv . 
Lodge,  2  vols.  ;  John  Adams  and   Thomas 
Morse  ;  Alexander  Hamilton,  by  H.  C.  Lodge 
ris,  by  T.  Roosevelt  ;  James  Madison,   by   S.  x 
Monroe,  by  D.  C.  Gilman  ;  Albert  Gallatin,  by  ^ 
John  Randolph,  by  H.  Adams  ;  John  Jay,  by  G.  J: 
Marshall,  by  A.  B.  Magruder  ;  John  Quincy  Adams, 
Morse  ;  John  C.   Calhoun,  by  H.  von  Hoist  ;  Andrew  Jul 
by   W.  G.  Sumner  ;  Martin    Van   Buren,  by   E.   M.   She; 
Henry  Clay,  by  C.  Schurz,  2  vols.  ;  Daniel   Webster,  by  I 
Lodge  ;  Thomas  H.  Benton,  by  T.  Roosevelt. 

In  connection  with  the  questions  on  page  269  relating  to  tariff, 
currency,  etc.,  references  to  some  works  on  political  economy  are 
needed.  The  arguments  in  favour  of  protectionism  are  set  forth 
in  Bowen's  American  Political  Economy,  last  ed.,  N.  Y.,  1870  ;  the 
arguments  in  favour  of  free  trade  are  set  forth  in  Perry's  Po- 
litical Economy,  19th  ed.,  N.  Y.,  1887  ;  and  for  an  able  and  im- 
partial historical  survey,  Taussig's  Tariff  History  of  the  United 
States,  N.  Y.,  1888,  may  be  recommended.  For  a  lucid  view  of 
currency,  see  Jevous's  Money  and  the  Mechanism  of  Exchange, 
N.  Y.,  1875. 

A  useful  work  on  the  Australian  method  of  voting  is  Wigmore's 
The  Australian  Ballot  System,  2d  ed.,  Boston,  1890. 

In  connection  with  some  of  the  questions  on  page  271,  the 
student  may  profitably  consult  Woolsey's  International  Law,  5th 
ed.,  N.  Y.,  1879. 


APPENDIX  A. 

THE  ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 

Articles  of  Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union  between  the  States 
of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode  Island  and 
Providence  Plantations,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina,  and  Georgia. 

Article  I.  —  The  style  of  this  Confederacy  shall  be,  "The 
United  States  of  America." 

Art.  II.  —  Each  State  retains  its  sovereignt}',  freedom,  and 
independence,  and  every  power,  jurisdiction,  and  right,  which  is 
not  by  this  Confederation  expressly  delegated  to  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled. 

Art.  III.  —  The  said  States  hereby  severally  enter  into  a 
filHii  league  of  friendship  with  each  other,  for  their  common  de- 
fence, the  security  of  their  liberties,  and  their  mutual  and  gen- 
eral welfare,  binding  themselves  to  assist  each  other  against  all 
force  offered  to,  or  attacks  made  upon  them,  or  any  of  them,  on 
account  of  religion,  sovereignty,  trade,  or  any  other  pretence 
whatever. 

Art.  IV. —  The  better  to  secure  and  perpetuate  mutual 
friendship  and  intercourse  among  the  people  of  the  different 
States  in  this  Union,  the  free  inhabitants  of  each  of  these  States, 
paupers,  vagabonds,  and  fugitives  from  justice  excepted,  shall 
be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  immunities  of  free  citizens  in 
the  several  States ;  and  the  people  of  each  State  shall  have  free 
ingress  and  egress  to  and  from  any  other  State,  and  shall  enjoy 
therein  all  the  privileges  of  trade  and  commerce  subject  to  the 
same  duties,  impositions,  and  restrictions  as  the  inhabitants 
thereof  ret^peclively ;  jjrovided  that  such  restrictions  shall  not 
extend  so  far  as  to  prevent  the  removal  of  property  imported 
into  any  State  to  any  other  State  of  which  the  owner  is  an  in- 


280  APPENDIX  A. 

habitant;  provided  also,  that  no  imposition,  duties,  or  restriction 
shall  be  laid  by  any  State  on  the  property  of  the  United  States 
or  either  of  them.  If  any  person  guilty  of,  or  charged  with, 
treason,  felony,  or  other  high  misdemeanour  in  any  State  shall 
riee  from  justice  and  be  found  in  any  of  the  United  States,  he 
shall,  upon  demand  of  the  governor  or  executive  power  of  the 
State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  and  removed  to  the 
State  having  jurisdiction  of  his  offense.  Full  faith  and  credit 
shall  be  given  in  each  of  these  States  to  the  records,  acts,  and 
judicial  proceedings  of  the  courts  and  magistrates  of  every  other 
State. 

Art.  V.  —  For  the  more  convenient  management  of  the 
general  interests  of  the  United  States,  delegates  shall  be  annually 
appointed  in  such  manner  as  the  Legislature  of  each  State  shall 
direct,  to  meet  in  Congress  on  the  first  Monday  in  November, 
in  every  year,  with  a  power  reserved  to  each  State  to  recall  its 
delegates,  or  any  of  them,  at  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to 
send  others  in  their  stead  for  the  remainder  of  the  year.  No 
State  shall  be  represented  in  Congress  by  less  than  two,  nor  by 
more  than  seven  members;  and  no  person  shall  be  capable  of 
being  a  delegate  for  more  than  three  years  in  any  term  of  six 
years;  nor  shall  any  person,  being  a  delegate,  be  cajmble  of 
holding  any  office  under  the  United  States  for  which  he,  or 
another  for  his  benefit,  receives  any  salary,  fees,  or  emolument 
of  any  kind.  Each  State  shall  maintain  its  own  delegates  in 
any  meeting  of  the  States  and  while  they  act  as  members  of  the 
Committee  of  the  States.  In  determining  questions  in  tlie 
United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  each  State  shall  have  one 
vote.  Freedom  of  speech  and  debate  in  Congress  shall  not  be 
impeached  or  questioned  in  any  court  or  place  out  of  Congress; 
and  the  members  of  Congress  shall  be  protected  in  their  per- 
sons from  arrests  and  imprisonment  during  the  time  of  their 
going  to  and  from,  and  attendance  on.  Congress,  except  for 
treason,  felony,  or  breach  of  the  peace. 

AuT.  VI.  —  No  State,  without  the  consent  of  the  United 
States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  send  any  embassy  to,  or 
receive  any  embassy  from,  or  enter  into  any  conference,  agree- 
ment, alliance,  or  treaty  with  any  king,  prince,  or  state;  nor 
shall  any  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  the 
United  States,  or  any  of  them,  accept  of  any  present,  emolu- 
ment, office,  or  title  of  any  kind  whntever  from  any  king,  prince, 
or  foreign  state;  nor  shall  the  United  States,  in  Congress  as- 
sembled, or  any  of  them,  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION.  281 

No  two  or  more  States  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  confeder- 
ation, or  alliance  whatever  between  them,  without  the  consent 
of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  specifying  accu- 
rately the  purposes  for  which  the  same  is  to  be  entered  into,  and 
liow  long  it  shall  continue. 

No  State  shall  lay  any  imposts  or  duties  which  may  interfere 
with  any  stipulations  in  treaties  entered  into  by  the  United 
States,  in  Congress  assembled,  with  any  king,  prince,  or  state, 
in  pursuance  of  any  treaties  already  proposed  by  Congress  to 
the  courts  of  France  and  Spain. 

No  vessel  of  war  shall  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace  by  any 
State,  e.xcept  such  number  only  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary 
by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  for  the  defence  of 
such  State  or  its  trade,  nor  shall  any  body  of  forces  be  kept  up 
by  any  State  in  time  of  peace,  except  such  number  only  as,  in 
the  judgment  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall 
be  deemed  requisite  to  garrison  the  forts  necessary  for  the  de- 
fence of  such  State  ;  but  every  State  shall  alwnys  keep  up  a 
well-regulated  and  disciplined  militia,  sulhciently  armed  and 
accoutred,  and  shall  provide  and  constantly  have  ready  for  use 
in  public  stores  a  due  number  of  field-pieces  and  tents,  and  a 
proper  quantity  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  camp  equipage. 

No  State  shall  engage  in  any  war  without  the  consent  of  the 
United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  unless  such  State  be 
actually  invaded  by  enemies,  or  shall  have  received  certain  ad- 
vice of  a  resolution  being  formed  by  some  nation  of  Indians  to 
invade  such  State,  and  the  danger  is  so  imminent  as  not  to  ad- 
mit of  a  delay  till  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled, 
can  be  consulted  ;  nor  shall  any  State  grant  commissions  to  any 
ships  or  vessels  of  war,  nor  letters  of  marque  or  reprisal,  except 
ir,  be  after  a  declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States,  in  Con- 
gress assembled,  and  then  only  against  the  kingdom  or  state, 
and  the  subjects  thereof,  against  which  war  has  been  so  de- 
clared, and  under  such  regulations  as  shall  be  established  by  the 
United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  unless  such  State  be  in- 
fested by  pirates,  in  which  case  vessels  of  war  may  be  fitted  out 
for  that  occasion,  and  kept  so  long  as  the  danger  shall  continue, 
or  until  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  deter- 
mine otherwise. 

Art.  VII.  —  When  land  forces  are  raised  by  any  State  for 
the  common  defence,  all  officers  of  or  under  the  rank  of  Colonel 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  Legislature  of  each  State  respectively 


282  APPENDIX  A. 

bv  whom  such  forces  shall  be  raised,  or  in  such  manner  as  such 
State  shall  direct,  and  all  vacancies  shall  be  filled  up  by  the 
State  which  first  made  the  appointment. 

Art.  VIII.  —  All  charges  of  war,  and  all  other  expenses 
that  shall  be  incurred  for  the  common  defence,  or  general  wel- 
fare, and  allowed  by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled, 
shall  be  defrayed  out  of  a  common  treasury,  which  shall  be  sup- 
plied by  the  several  States  in  proportion  to  the  value  of  all  land 
within  each  State,  granted  to,  or  surveyed  for,  any  person,  as 
such  land  and  the  buildings  and  improvements  thereon  shall  be 
estimated,  according  to  such  mode  as  the  United  States,  in 
Congress  assembled,  shall,  from  time  to  time,  direct  and  ap- 
point. The  taxes  for  paying  that  proportion  shall  be  laid  and 
levied  by  the  authority  and  direction  of  the  Legislatures  of  the 
several  States,  within  the  time  agreed  upon  by  the  United 
States,  in  Congress  assembled. 

Art.  IX.  —  The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled, 
shall  have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  determining 
on  peace  and  war,  except  in  the  cases  mentioned  in  the  sixth 
Article;  of  sending  and  receiving  ambassadors;  entering  into 
treaties  and  alliances,  provided  that  no  treaty  of  commerce 
shall  be  made,  whereby  the  legislative  power  of  the  respective 
States  shall  be  restrained  from  imposing  such  imposts  and 
duties  on  foreigners  as  their  own  people  are  subjected  to,  or 
from  prohibiting  the  exportation  or  importation  of  any  species 
of  goods  or  couimodities  whatever;  of  establishing  rules  for 
deciding,  in  all  cases,  what  captures  on  land  and  water  shall  be 
lecral,  and  in  what  manner  prizes  taken  by  land  or  naval  forces 
in  the  service  of  the  United  States  shall  be  divided  or  appropri- 
ated; of  granting  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  in  times  of 
peace;  appointing  courts  for  the  trial  of  piracies  and  felonies 
committed  on  the  high  seas  ;  and  establishing  courts  for  receiv- 
ing and  determining  finally  appeals  in  all  cases  of  captures; 
provided  that  no  member  of  Congress  shall  be  appointed  a  j  ndge 
of  any  of  the  said  courts. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  also  be  the 
last  resort  on  appeal  in  all  disputes  and  differences  now  sub- 
sisting, or  that  hereafter  may  arise  between  two  or  more  States 
concerning  boundary  jurisdiction,  or  any  other  cause  what- 
ever; which  authority  shall  always  be  exercised  in  the  manner 
following:  Whenever  the  legislative  or  executive  authority,  or 
lawful  agent  of  any  State  in  controversy  with  another,  shall 


ARTICLES   OF  CONFEDERATION.  283 

present  a  petition  to  Congress,  stating  the  matter  in  qtiestion, 
and  praying  for  a  hearing,  notice  thereof  shall  be  given  by 
order  of  Congress  to  the  legislative  or  executive  authority  of  tlie 
other  State  in  controversy,  and  a  day  assigned  for  the  appear- 
ance of  the  parties  by  their  lawful  agents,  who  shall  then  be 
directed  to  appoint,  by  joint  consent,  commissioners  or  judges 
to  constitute  a  court  for  hearing  and  determining  the  matter  in 
question;  but  if  they  cannot  agree,  Congress  shall  name  three 
persons  out  of  each  of  the  United  States,  and  from  the  list  of 
such  persons  each  party  shall  alternately  strike  out  one,  the 
petitioners  beginning,  until  the  number  shall  be  reduced  to 
thirteen;  and  from  that  number  not  less  than  seven  nor  more 
than  nine  names,  as  Congress  shall  direct,  shall,  in  the  presence 
of  Congress,  be  drawn  out  by  lot;  and  the  persons  whose  names 
shall  be  so  drawn,  or  any  five  of  them,  shall  be  commissioners 
or  judges,  to  hear  and  finally  determine  the  controversy,  so 
always  as  a  major  part  of  the  judges  who  shall  hear  the  cause 
shall  agree  in  the  determination;  and  if  either  party  shall 
neglect  to  attend  at  the  day  appointed,  without  showing  reasons 
which  Congress  shall  judge  sufficient,  or  being  present,  shall 
refuse  to  strike,  the  Congress  shall  proceed  to  nominate  three 
persons  out  of  each  State,  and  the  secretary  of  Congress  shall 
strike  in  behalf  of  such  party  absent  or  refusing;  and  the  judg- 
ment and  sentence  of  the  court,  to  be  appointed  in  the  manner 
before  prescribed,  shall  be  final  and  conclusive;  and  if  any  of 
the  parties  shall  refuse  to  submit  to  the  authority  of  such  court, 
or  to  appear  or  defend  their  claim  or  cause,  the  court  shall 
nevertheless  proceed  to  pronounce  sentence  or  judgment,  which 
shall  in  like  manner  be  final  and  decisive;  the  judgment  or 
sentence  and  other  proceedings  being  in  either  case  transmitted 
to  Congress,  and  lodged  among  the  acts  of  Congress  for  the 
security  of  the  parties  concerned;  provided,  that  every  commis- 
sioner, before  he  sits  in  judgment,  shall  take  an  oath,  to  be  ad- 
ministered by  one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  or  superior  court 
of  the  State  where  the  cause  shall  be  tried,  "  well  and  truly  to 
hear  and  determine  the  matter  in  question,  according  to  the  best 
of  his  judgment,  without  favour,  affection,  or  hope  of  reward." 
Provided,  also,  that  no  State  shall  be  dcj)rived  of  territory  for 
the  benefit  of  the  United  States. 

All  controversies  concerning  the  private  right  of  soil  claimed 
under  different  grants  of  two  or  more  States,  whose  jurisdictions, 
as  they  may  respect  sucii  lands,  and  the  States  which  passed 


284  APPENDIX  A. 

such  grants  are  adjusted,  the  said  grants  or  either  of  them  being 
at  the  same  time  claimed  to  have  originated  antecedent  to  such 
settlement  of  jurisdiction,  shall,  on  the  petition  of  either  party 
to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  be  finally  determined,  as 
near  as  may  be,  in  the  same  manner  as  is  before  prescribed  for 
deciding  disputes  respecting  territorial  jurisdiction  between 
different  States. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  also  have 
the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  regulating  the  alloy 
and  value  of  coin  struck  by  their  own  authority,  or  by  that  of 
the  respective  States  ;  fixing  the  standard  of  weights  and  meas- 
ures throughout  the  United  States;  regulating  the  trade  and 
managing  all  affairs  with  the  Indians,  not  members  of  any  of 
the  States ;  provided  that  the  legislative  right  of  any  State, 
within  its  own  limits,  be  not  infringed  or  violated  ;  establishing 
and  regulating  post-ofllces  from  one  State  to  another,  throughout 
all  the  United  States,  and  exacting  such  postage  on  the  papers 
passing  through  the  same  as  may  be  requisite  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses of  the  said  office  ;  appointing  all  officers  of  the  land 
forces  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  excepting  regimental 
officers  ;  appointing  all  the  officers  of  the  naval  forces,  and  com- 
missioning all  officers  whatever  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States;  making  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the 
said  land  and  naval  forces,  and  directing  their  operations. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  have  author- 
ity to  appoint  a  committee,  to  sit  in  the  recess  of  Congress,  to 
be  denominated  "  A  Committee  of  the  States,"  and  to  consist 
of  one  delegate  from  each  State,  and  to  appoint  such  other 
committees  and  civil  officers  as  may  be  necessary  for  managing 
the  general  affairs  of  the  United  States  under  their  direction  ; 
to  appoint  one  of  their  number  to  preside  ;  provided  that  no 
person  be  allowed  to  serve  in  the  oflice  of  presich'nt  more  than 
one  year  in  any  term  of  three  years  ;  to  ascertain  the  nece-ssary 
sums  of  money  to  be  raised  for  the  service  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  appropriate  and  apply  the  same  for  defraying  the  public 
expenses  ;  to  borrow  money  or  emit  l)ills  on  the  credit  of  the 
United  States,  transmitting  every  half  year  to  the  respective 
States  an  account  of  the  sums  of  money  so  borrowed  or  emitted ; 
to  build  and  equip  a  navy;  to  agree  upon  the  number  of  land 
forces,  and  to  make  recjuisitions  from  each  State  for  its  quota, 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  white  inhabitants  in  such  State, 
which  requisition  shall  be  binding  ;  and  thereupon  the  Legisla- 


ARTICLES   OF  CONFEDERATION.  285 

ture  of  each  State  shall  appoint  the  vegimental  ofiicers,  raise  the 
men,  and  clothe,  arm,  and  equip  them  in  a  soldier-like  manner, 
at  the  expense  of  the  United  States  ;  and  the  officers  and  men 
so  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped  shall  march,  to  the  place  ap- 
pointed, and  within  the  time  agreed  on  by  the  United  States,  ia 
Congress  assembled  ;  but  if  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled,  shall,  on  consideration  of  circumstances,  judge  proper 
that  any  State  should  not  raise  men,  or  should  raise  a  smaller 
number  than  its  quota,  and  that  any  other  State  should  raise  a 
greater  number  of  men  than  the  quota  thereof,  such  extra  num- 
ber sliall  be  raised,  officered,  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  quota  of  such  State,  unless  the  Legis- 
lature of  such  State  shall  judge  that  such  extra  number  can- 
not be  safely  spared  out  of  the  same,  in  which  case  they  shall 
raise,  officer,  clothe,  arm,  and  equip  as  many  of  such  extra  num- 
ber as  they  judge  can  be  safely  spared,  and  the  officers  and  men 
so  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped  shall  march  to  the  place  ap- 
pointed, and  within  the  time  agreed  on  by  the  United  States,  in 
Congress  assembled. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  never  en- 
gage in  a  war,  nor  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  in  time 
of  peace,  nor  enter  into  any  treaties  or  alliances,  nor  coin 
money,  nor  regulate  the  value  thereof,  nor  ascertain  the  sums 
and  expenses  necessary  for  the  defense  and  welfare  of  the 
United  States,  or  any  of  them,  nor  emit  bills,  nor  borrow  money 
on  the  credit  of  the  United  States,  nor  a])propriate  money,  nor 
agree  upon  the  number  of  vessels  of  war  to  be  built  or  pur- 
chased, or  the  number  of  land  or  sea  foi'ces  to  be  raised,  nor 
appoint  a  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  or  navy,  unless  nine 
States  assent  to  the  same,  nor  shall  a  question  on  any  other 
point,  except  for  adjourning  from  day  to  day,  be  determined, 
unless  by  the  votes  of  a  majority  of  the  United  States,  in  Con- 
gress assembled. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  shall  have  power  to  ad- 
journ to  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  any  place  within  the 
United  States,  so  that  no  period  of  adjournment  be  for  a  longer 
duration  than  the  space  of  six  montlis,  and  shall  publish  the 
journal  of  their  proceedings  montlily,  except  such  parts  thereof 
relating  to  treaties,  alliances,  or  military  operations  as  in  their 
judgment  require  secrecy ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  dele- 
gates of  each  State,  on  any  question,  shall  be  entered  on  the 
journal  when  it  is  desired  by  any  delegate  ;  and  the  delegates 


286  APPENDIX  A. 

of  a  State,  or  any  of  them,  at  liis  or  their  request,  sliall  be  fur- 
nished with  a  transcript  of  the  said  journal  except  such  parts  as 
are  above  excepted,  to  lay  before  the  Legislatures  of  the  several 
States. 

Art.  X.  —  The  Committee  of  the  States,  or  any  nine  of 
them,  shall  be  authorized  to  execute,  in  the  recess  of  Congress, 
such  of  the  powers  of  Congress  as  the  United  States,  in  Con- 
gress assembled,  by  the  consent  of  nine  States,  shall,  from  time 
to  time,  think  expedient  to  vest  them  with  ;  provided  that  no 
power  be  delegated  to  the  said  Committee,  fur  the  exercise  of 
which,  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  the  voice  of  nine  States 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  assembled  is  requisite. 

Art.  XI.  —  Canada,  acceding  to  this  Confederation,  and 
joining  in  the  measures  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  admitted 
into,  and  entitled  to  all  the  advantages  of  this  Union  ;  but  no 
other  colony  shall  be  admitted  into  the  same,  unless  such  ad- 
mission be  agreed  to  by  nine  States. 

Art.  XII.  —  All  bills  of  credit  emitted,  moneys  borrowed, 
and  debts  contracted  by  or  under  the  authority  of  Congress,  be- 
fore the  assembling  of  the  United  States,  in  pursuance  of  the 
present  Confederation,  shall  be  deemed  and  considered  as  a 
charge  against  the  United  States,  for  payment  and  satisfaction 
whereof  the  said  United  States  and  the  public  faith  are  hereby 
solemnly  pledged. 

Art.  XIII.  —  Every  State  shall  abide  by  the  determinations 
of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  on  all  questions 
which  by  this  Confederation  are  submitted  to  them.  And  the 
Articles  of  this  Confederation  shall  be  inviolably  observed  by 
every  State,  and  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual  ;  nor  shall  any 
alteration  at  any  time  hereafter  be  made  in  any  of  them,  unless 
such  alteration  be  agreed  to  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
and  be  afterwards  confirmed  by  the  Legislatures  of  every  State. 

And  whereas  it  hath  pleased  the  great  Governor  of  the 
world  to  incline  the  hearts  of  the  Legislatures  we  respectively 
represent  in  Congress  to  approve  of,  and  to  authorize  us  to 
ratify,  the  said  Articles  of  Confederation  and  perpetual  Union, 
know  ye,  that  we,  the  undersigned  delegates,  by  virtue  of  the 
power  and  authority  to  us  given  for  that  purpose,  do,  by  these 
presents,  in  the  name  and  in  behalf  of  our  respective  constitu- 
ents, fully  and  entirely  ratify  and  confirm  each  and  every  of  the 
said  Articles  of  Confederation  and  perpetual  Union,  and  all  and 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  287 

singular  the  matters  and  things  therein  contained.  And  we  do 
further  solemnly  plight  and  engage  the  faith  of  our  respective 
constituents,  that  they  shall  abide  by  the  determinations  of  the 
United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  on  all  questions  which  by 
the  said  Confederation  are  submitted  to  them  ;  and  that  the 
Articles  thereof  shall  be  inviolably  observed  by  the  States  we 
respectively  represent,  and  that  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual. 

In  witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  in  Con- 
gress. Done  at  Philadelphia  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
the  ninth  day  of  July  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  seventy-eight,  and  in  the  third  year  of 
the  i    lependence  of  America. 


APPENDIX   B. 

THE   CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
Preamble.! 

We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more 
perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  pro- 
vide for  the  common  defence,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and 
secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do 
ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of 
America. 

Article  I.     Legislative  Department.^ 

Section  I.     Congre.'^x  in  General. 

All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives. 

Section  II.     House  of  Representatives. 

1.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of  mem- 
bers chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several 
States,  and  the  electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the  (jualifica- 
tions  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the 
State  legislature. 

1  Coinpare  this  Prpamble  with  Confed.  Art.  I.  and  III. 

2  Compare  Art.  I.,  §§  i.-vii.  with  Confed.  Art.  V. 


288  APPENDIX  B. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  A\s\\  not  have 
attained  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected, 
be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

3.  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this 
Union,  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  which  shall  be 
determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free  persons,  in- 
cluding those  bound  to  .service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  exclud- 
ing Indians  not  taxed,  three  fifths  of  all  other  persons.  The 
actual  enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the 
first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within 
every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manuvir  as  they 
fihall  by  law  direct.  The  number  of  Representative!  shall  not 
exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand,  but  each  State  ^hall  have 
at  Feast  one  Representative;  and  until  such  enumer.tion  shall 
be  made,  the  State  of  New  Hampsliire  shall  be  entitled  to  choose 
three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Planta- 
tions one,  C^necticut  five,  Neiu  York  six.  New  Jersey  four, 
Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  .Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten, 
North  Carolina  five.  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  fi'om  any 
State,  the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election 
to  fill  such  vacancies. 

5.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker 
and  other  officers,  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeach- 
ment. 

Section  III.     Senate. 

1.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two 
Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  legislature  thereof,  for 
six  years ;  and  each  Senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence 
of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be 
into  three  classes.  The  seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  class 
shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year ;  of  the 
second  class,  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the 
third  class,  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one  third 
may  be  chosen  every  second  year;  and  if  vacancies  happen  by 

-  resignation  or  otherwise  during  the  I'ecess  of  the  legislature  of 
any  State,  the  executive  thereof  may  make  temporary  appoint- 
ments until  the  next  meeting  of  the  legislature,  which  shall  then 
fill  such  vacancies. 


THE  CONSTITUTION.  289 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained 
to  the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  oitizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabit- 
ant of  that  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President 
of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally 
divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a 
President  pro  tempore  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or 
when  he  shall  exercise  the  office  of  President  of  the  United 
States. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeach- 
ments. AVhen  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath  or 
affirmation.  When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  tried, 
the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside:  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted 
without  the  concurrence  of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present. 

7.  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further 
than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and 
enjoy  any  office  of  honour,  trust,  or  profit  under  the  United 
States;  but  the  party  convicted  shall,  nevertheless,  be  liable 
and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment,  and  punishment,  ac- 
coi'ding  to  law. 

Section  IV.     Both  Houses. 

1.  The  t^aies,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for 
Senators  and  Representatives  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State 
,by  the  legislature  thereof;  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time 
by  law  make  or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to  the  places 
of  choosing  Senators. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year, 
and  such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December, 
unless  they  shall  by  law  appoint  a  different  day. 

Section  V.      The  Houses  Separately. 

1.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns,  and 
qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall 
constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business;  but  a  smaller  number  may 
adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the 
attendance  of  absent  members,  in  such  manner,  and  under  such 
penalties,  as  each  house  may  provide. 

2.  Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings, 
punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behaviour,  and  with  the  con- 
currence of  two  thirds,  expel  a  member. 


y 


290  APPENDIX  B. 

3.  Each  ho'ise  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and 
from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may 
in  their  judgment  require  secrecy,  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the 
members  of  either  house  on  any  question  shall,  at  the  desire  of 
one  fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

4.  Neither  house,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days, 
nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the  two  houses  shall 
be  sitting. 

Section   VI.     Privileges  and  Disabilities  of  Members. 

1.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a  compen- 
sation for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law  and  paid  out 
of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  shall,  in  all  cases 
except  treason,  felony,  and  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged 
from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at  the  session  of  their  re- 
spective houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same  ; 
and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  house  they  shall  not  be 
questioned  in  any  other  place. 

2.  No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  time  for 
which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the 
authority  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  beon  created, 
or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been  incr'~  ised  during 
such  time;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  under  the  United 
States  shall  be  a  member  of  either  house  during  his  continuance 
in  office. 

Section  VII.     Mode  of  Passing  Laws. 

1.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originata  in  the  House  of 
Representatives;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with 
amendments  as  on  other  bills. 

2.  J^very  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives and  the  Sennte  shall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be  pre- 
sented to  the  President  of  the  United  States;  if  he  approve  he 
shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  objections,  to 
that  house  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the 
objections  at  large  on  their  journal  and  proceed  to  reconsider 
it.  If  after  such  reconsideration  two  thirds  of  that  house  shall 
agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objec- 
tions, to  the  other  house,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  recon- 
sidered, and  if  approved  by  two  thirds  of  that  house  it  shall 
become  a  law.  But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of  both  houses 
shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  291 

persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be  entered  on  the 
journal  of  each  house  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be  re- 
turned by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepti'd) 
after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a 
law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress 
by  their  adjournment  prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall 
not  be  a  law. 

3.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concurrence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary 
(except  on  a  question  of  adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States;  and  before  the  same  shall  take 
effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by  him, 
shall  be  repassed  by  two  thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and  limitations  pre- 
scribed in  the  case  of  a  bill. 

Section   VIII.     Powers  granted  to  Congress.'^ 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  : 

1.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  to 
pay  the  deb.s  and  provide  for  the  common  defense  and  general 
welfare  of  the  United  States;  but  all  duties,  imposts,  and  ex- 
cises shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States; 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States; 

3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations  and  among  the 
several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes; 

4.  To  establish  an  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uni- 
form laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United 
States ; 

5.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign 
-  coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures; 

6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  secu- 
rities and  current  coin  of  the  United  States; 

7.  To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads; 

8.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts  by  se- 
curing for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive 
right  to  their  respective  writings  and  discoveries; 

9.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court; 

10.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on 
the  high  seas  and  offenses  against  the  law  of  nations; 

1  Compare  §§  viii.  and  ix.  with  Confed.  Art.  IX. ;  clause  1  of  §  viii. 
with  Confed.  Art.  VIII.;  and  clause  12  of  §  viii,  with  Coufed.  Art. 
VII. 


292  APPENDIX  B. 

11.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and 
make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water; 

12.  To  raise  and  support  armies,  but  no  appropriation  of 
money  to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years; 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy; 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the 
land  and  naval  forces. 

15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the 
laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions; 

16.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the 
militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  em- 
ployed in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  reserving  to  the 
States  respectively  the  appointnlent  of  the  officers,  and  the 
authority  of  training  the  militia  according  to  the  discipline 
prescribed  by  Congress; 

17.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever 
over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by 
cession  of  particular  States  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  be- 
come the  seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  to 
exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the  consent 
of  the  legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for 
the  erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dockyards,  and  other 
needful  buildings;  and 

18.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper 
for  carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other 
powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  officer  thereof.^ 

Section  IX.     Powers  denied  to  the  United  States. 

1.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the 
States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit  shall  not  be  pro- 
hibited by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  eight,  but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such 
importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person. 

2.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  sus- 
pended, unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public 
safety  may  require  it. 

3.  No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

4.  No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in 

1  Tliis  is  tlie  Elastic  Clause  in  the  intcrprctiition  of  which  arose  the 
original  and  fundamental  division  of  political  parties.  See  above, 
pp.  245,  259. 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  293 

p'oportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed 
to  be  taken. 

5.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any 
State. 

6.  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  com- 
merce or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  an- 
other; nor  shall  vessels  bound  to  or  from  one  State  be  obliged 
to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in  another. 

7.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury  but  in  con- 
sequence of  appropriations  made  by  law;  and  a  regular  state- 
ment and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public 
money  shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

8.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States; 
and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them 
shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present, 
emolument,  office,  or  title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king, 
prince,  or  foreign  State. 

Section  X.     Poivers  denied  to  the  States.^ 

1.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confedera- 
tion; grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal;  coin  money;  emit 
bills  of  credit ;  make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender 
in  payment  of  debts;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto 
law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts,  or  grant  any 
title  of  nobility. 

2.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any 
imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  laws  ;  and  the 
net  produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on  im- 
ports or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States  ;  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision 
and  control  of  the  Congress. 

3.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any 
duty  of  tonnage,  keep  troops  or  sliips  of  war  in  time  of  peace, 
enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  another  State  or  with 
a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless  actually  invaded  or  in 
such  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 

1  Compare  §  x.  with  Confed.  Art.  VI. 


294  APPENDIX  B. 

Article  II.     Executive  Department.^ 

Section  I.     President  and  Vice-President. 

1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  ot  the 
United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the 
term  of  four  years,  and  together  with  the  Vice-President,  chosen 
for  the  same  term,  be  elected  as  follows  : 

2.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature 
thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole 
number  of  Senators  and  Representatives  to  which  the  State  may 
be  entitled  in  the  Congress  ;  but  no  Senator  or  Representative, 
or  person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United 
States,  shall  be  appointed  an  elector. 

3.  [The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  two  persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an 
inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves.  And  they  shall 
make  a  list  of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  number  of 
votes  for  each  ;  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  trans- 
mit sealed  to  the  seat  of  government  of  the  United  States, 
directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the 
Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then 
be  counted.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes 
shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  of  electors  appointed  ;  and  if  there  be  more  than 
one  who  have  such  majority,  and  have  an  equal  number  of 
votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  immediately 
choose  by  ballot  one  of  them  for  President  ;  and  if  no  person 
have  a  majority,  then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  list  the  said 
House  shall  in  like  manner  choose  the  President.  But  in 
choosing  the  President  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the 
representation  from  each  State  having  one  vote  ;  a  quorum  for 
this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two 
thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the   States  shall  be 

■  necessary  to  a  choice.  In  every  case,  after  the  choice  of  the 
President,  the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  of  the 
electors  shall  be  the  Vice-President.  But  if  there  should  remain 
two  or  more  who  have  equal  votes,  the  Senate  shall  choose  from 
them  by  ballot  the  Vice-Pi'esident.]  ^ 

^  Compare  Art.  II.  with  Confed.  Art.  X. 

2  This  chiuse  of  the  Coii.stitution  lias  been  amended.  See  Amend- 
ments, Art.  XII, 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  295 

4.  The  Congres*,  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the 
electors  and  the  daf  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes,  which 
day  shall  be  the  sanr^  throughout  the  United  States. 

5.  No  jierson  excijpt  a  natural- born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution, 
shall  be  iligible  to  the  xwtfice  of  President  ;  neither  shall  any 
person  be  eligible  to  ^hat  olFice  who  shall  not  have  attained  to 
the  a^e  of  thirty-five  j^ears',  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident 
within  the  Ur\ited  States. 

6.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of 
his  death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and 
duties  of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice- 
President,  and  the  Congress  nia\  by  law  provide  for  the  case  of 
removal,  death,  resignation,; or  inability,  both  of  the  President 
and  Vice-Presii^t,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as 
President,  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly  until  the  dis- 
ability be  removed  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

7.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services 
a  compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished 
during  the  period  for  which  he  may  have  been  elected,  and  he  ■ 
shall  not  receive  within  that  period  any  other  emolument  from 
the  United  States  or  any  of  them. 

8.  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office  he  shall  take 
the  following  oath  or  affirmation  : 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute 
the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will  to  the  best 
of  my  ability  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States." 

Section  II.     Powers  of  the  President. 

1.  The  President  shall  be  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Army 
and  Nav}'  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several 
States  when  called  into  the  actual  service  of  the  United  States  ; 
he  may  require  the  opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal  officer  ia 
^.ach  of  t^e  executive  departments,  upon  any  subject  relating  to 
the  dutieij  of  their  respective  offices,  and  he  shall  have  power  to 
grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offenses  against  the  United 
States,  exci  pt  in  casts  of  impeachment. 

2.  He  sliil!  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  ^he.  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two  thirds  of  the  Sen- 
ators present  concur  ;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and,  by  and  with 
the  advice  md  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  ai)poiMt  ambassa- 


296  APPENDIX  B. 

dors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  judg;s  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  United  Stn  es,  whose  appoint- 
ments are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  fcr,  and  which  shall 
be  established  by  law  ;  but  the  Congress  may  by  law  vest  the 
appointment  of  such  inft-rior  officers,  as  th'iy  think  proper,  in 
the  President  alone,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  de- 
partments. 

3.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fiU  up  all  vacancies  that 
may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  com- 
missions which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 

Section  III.     Duties  of  the  President. 

He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress  information 
of  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration 
such  measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient  ;  he 
may,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  convene  both  houses,  or  either 
of  them,  and  in  case  of  disagreement  between  them  with  re- 
spect to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to 
such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper  ;  he  shall  receive  ambassa- 
dors and  other  public  ministers  ;  he  shall  take  care  that  the 
laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  commission  all  the  officers 
of  the  United  States. 

Section  IV.     Impeachment. 

The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the 
United  States  shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment 
for  and  conviction  of  treason,  bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and 
misdemeanors. 

Article  III.     Judicial  Department.^ 

Section  I.      United  States  Courts. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in 
one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Congress 
may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The  judges,  both 
of  the  supreme  and  inferior  courts,  shall  hold  their  offices  dur- 
ing good  behaviour,  and  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  their 
services  a  compensation  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during 
their  continuance  in  office. 

1  Compare  Art.  III.  with  the  first  three  paragraphs  of  Confed. 
Art.  IX. 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  297 


Section  II.     Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  Courts. 

1.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in  law  and 
equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their 
authority  ;  to  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  minis- 
ters, and  consuls  ;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  juris- 
diction ;  to  controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a 
party,  to  controversies  between  two  or  more  States;  between  a 
State  and  citizens  of  another  State  ;  between  citizens  of  differ- 
ent States  ;  between  citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming  lands 
under  grants  of  different  States,  and  between  a  State,  or  the  citi- 
zens thereof,  and  foreign  States,  citizens,  or  subjects.^ 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers 
and  consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  a  party,  the  Su- 
preme Court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other 
cases  before  mentioned  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  ajipellate 
jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions,  and 
under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment, 
shall  be  by  jury;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  Avhere 
the  said  crimes  shall  have  been  committed  ;  but  when  not  com- 
mitted within  any  State,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  places 
as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

Section  HI.     Treason, 

1.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in 
levving  war  against  them,  or  in  adhoriuu;  to  then"  enemies,  wivino- 
them  aid  and  comfort.  No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason 
unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act, 
or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

2.  Tlie  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment 
of  treason,  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of 
blood  or  forfeiture  except  during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

Article   IV.      The   States  and  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment.^ 

Section  I.     State  Records. 
Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to  the  public 

^  This  clause  has  been  amended.     See  Amendments,  Art.  XI. 
2  Compare  Art.  IV.  with  Coufed  Art.  IV. 


298  APPENDIX  B. 

acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other  State. 
And  the  Congress  may  by  general  laws  prescribe  the  manner  in 
which  such  acts,  records,  and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and 
the  effect  thereof. 

Section  II.     Privileges  of  Citizens,  etc. 

1.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges 
and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

2.  A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or 
other  crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another 
State,  shall,  on  demand  of  the  executive  authority  of  the  State 
from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State 
having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

3.  No  person  held  to  service  or  labour  in  one  State,  under  the 
laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any 
law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or 
labour,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom 
such  service  or  labour  may  be  due.^ 

Section  III.     New  States  and  Territories.^ 

1.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this 
Union;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  any  other  State;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the 
junction  of  two  or  more  States  or  parts  of  States,  without  the 
consent  of  the  legislatures  of  the  States  concerned  as  well  as  of 
the  Congress. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all 
needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other 
property  belonging  to  the  United  States ;  and  nothing  in  this 
Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of 
the  United  States  or  of  any  particular  State. 

Section  IV.      Guarantee  to  the  States. 

The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this 
Union  a  republican  form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each 
of  tliem  against  invasion,  and  on  application  of  the  legislature, 
or  of  the  executive  (when  the  legislature  cannot  be  convened), 
against  domestic  violence. 

1  This  clause  has  been  cancelled  by  Amendmert  XIII ,  which  abol- 
islifs  slavery. 

^  Cumpare  §  iii.  with  Coufed.  Art.  XI. 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  299 

Article  V.  Power  of  Amendment. ^ 
The  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of  both  houses  shall  deem 
it  necessary,  shall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or, 
on  the  application  of  the  legislatures  of  two  thirds  of  the  several 
States,  shall  call  a  convention  for  proposing  amendments,  which 
in  either  case  shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  part 
of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  three 
fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  in  three  fourths 
thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be  pro- 
posed by  the  Congress,  provided  that  no  amendments  which 
may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
eight  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth  clauses  in 
the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article;  and  that  no  State,  without 
its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

Article  VI.     Public  Debt,  Supremacy  of  the  Consti- 
tution, Oath  of  Office,  Religious  Test. 

1.  All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into,  before 
the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the 
United  States  under  this  Constitution  as  under  the  confedera- 
tion.'^ 

2.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which 
shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or 
which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land;  and  the  judges  in  every 
State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything  in  the  Constitution  or 
laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

3.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned,  and 
the  members  of  the  several  State  legislatures,  and  all  executive 
and  judicial  officers  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several 
States,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  this 
Constitution  ;  but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as 
a  qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  the  United 
States.8 

Article  VII.     Ratification  of  the  Constitution. 
The  ratification  of  the  conventions   of  nine   States   shall  be 

1  Compare  Art.  V.  with  Confed.  Art.  XIII. 

2  Compare  clause  I  with  Confed.  Art.  XII. 

8  Comp;ire  clauses  2  and  3  witli  Confed.  Art.  XIII.  and  addendum, 
"And  whereas,"  etc. 


300  APPENDIX   B. 

sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the 
States  so  ratifying  the  same. 

Done  in  convention  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  States 
present,^  the  seventeenth  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven, 
and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America 
the  twelfth.  In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunto  sub- 
scribed our  names. 

George  Washington,  President,  and  Deputy  from  Virginia. 
Nkw^  Hampshire  —  John  Langdon,  Nicholas  Oilman. 
Massachusetts  —  Nathaniel  Gorham,  Rufus  King. 
Connecticut  —  William  Samuel  Johnson,  Roger  Sherman. 
New  York  —  Alexander  Hamilton. 
New  Jersey  —  William  Livingston,  David  Brearly,  William 

Patterson,  Jonathan  Dayton. 
Pennsylvania  —  Benjamin  Franklin,  Thomas  Mifflin,  Robert 

Morris,  George  Clymer,  Thomas  Fitzsimons,  Jared  IngersoU, 

James  Wilson,  Gouverneur  Morris. 
Delaware  —  George  Read,  Gimning  Bedford,  Jr.,  John  Dick- 
inson, Richard  Bassett,  Jacob  Broom. 
Maryland  —  James  McHenry,  Daniel  of  St.  Thomas  Jenifer, 

Daniel  Carroll. 
Virginia  —  John  Blair,  James  Madison,  Jr. 
North  Carolina  —  William  Blount,  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight, 

Hugh  Williamson. 
South  Carolina  —  John  Rutledge,  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinck- 

ney,  Charles  Pinckney,  Pierce  Butler. 
Georgia  —  William  Few,  Abraham  Baldwin. 

Attest  :  William  Jackson,  Secretary. 


AMENDMENTS.^ 


Article  I. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging 
the  freedom  of  speech  or  of  the  press;  or  the  right  of  the  people 

^  Hhode  Island  sent  no  delegates  to  the  Federal  Convention. 
^  Amendments  I.  to  X.  were  proposed  by  Congress,  Sept.  25,  1789, 
and  declared  in  force  Dec.  15,  1791. 


THE  CONSTITUTION.  801 

peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition  the  government  for  a 
redress  of  grievances. 

Article  II. 

A  well-regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a 
free  State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall 
not  be  infringed. 

Article  III. 

No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a 
manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

Article  IV. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  elfects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures, 
t^hall  not  be  violated,  and  no  warrants  shall  issue  but  upon  prob- 
able cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly 
describing  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  person  or  things  to 
be  seized. 

Article  V. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or  otherwise 
infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a 
grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces, 
or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  war  or  public 
danger ;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the  same  offense  to 
be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  compelled 
in  any  criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be  de- 
prived of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law  ; 
nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just 
compensation. 

Article  VI. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right 
to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State 
and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed, 
which  district  shall  have  been  previously  ascertained  by  law, 
and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation; 
to  be  confronted  with  the  witness  against  him  ;  to  have  com- 
pulsory process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favour,  and  to 
have  the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

Article  VIL 
In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall 


302  APPENDIX  B. 

exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  pre- 
served, and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  reexam- 
ined in  any  court  of  the  United  States,  than  according  to  the 
rules  of  the  common  law. 

Article  VIII. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  im- 
posed, nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

Article  IX. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights  shall 
not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the 
people. 

Article  X.^ 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Con- 
stitution, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the 
States  respectively  or  to  the  people. 

Article  XI.^ 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  con- 
strued to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or 
prosecuted  against  one  of  the  United  States  by  citizens  of 
another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects  of  any  foreign  State. 

Article  XII.' 

1.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at 
least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  them- 
selves ;  they  shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as 
President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice- 
President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted 
for  as  President  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President, 
and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each  ;  which  lists  they  shall  sign 
and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate. 
The  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates  and  the 

^  Compare  Amendment  X.  with  Confed.  Art   II. 

2  Proposed  by  Congress  March  5,  1794,  and  declared  in  force  Jan. 
8,  1798. 

^  Proposed  by  Congress  Dec.  12,  1803,  and  declared  in  force  Sept. 
25,  1804. 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  303 

votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  person  having  the  p;reatest 
number  of  votes  for  President  shall  be  the  President,  if  such 
number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed; 
and  if  no  person  have  such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  hav- 
ing the  highest  numbers  not  exceeding  three  on  the  list  of  those 
voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But  in  choosing 
the  President  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  represen- 
tation from  each  State  having  one  vote;  a  quorum  for  this  pur- 
pose shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two  thirds  of 
the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to 
a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose 
a  President  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon 
them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the 
Vice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death 
or  other  constitutional  disability  of  the  President. 

2.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice- 
President  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a  ma- 
jority of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed  ;  and  if  no 
person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  numbers  on 
the  list  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice-President;  a  quorum 
for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two  thirds  of  the  whole  number 
of  Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  neces- 
sary to  a  choice. 

3.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of 
President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States. 

Article  XHI.^ 

1.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a 
punishment  for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly 
convicted,  shall  exist  within  the  United  States  or  any  place 
subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appro- 
priate legislation. 

Article  XIV.^ 
1.  All  persons  born  or  naturalizeil  in  the  United  States,  and 

1  Proposed  by  Congress  Feb.  1,  186.5,  anil  declared  in  force  Dec. 
18,  1865. 

2  Proposed  by  Congress  June  16,  1866,  and  declared  in  force  July 
28,  1868. 


304  APPENDIX  B. 

subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United 
States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall 
make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or 
immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  nor  shall  any 
State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without 
due  process  of  law  ;  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdic- 
tion the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several 
States  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the 
whole  number  of  persons  in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not 
taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  for  the 
choice  of  electors  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  Representatives  in  Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial 
officers  of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  legislature  thereof,  is 
denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  being 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in 
any  way  abridged,  except  for  participation  in  rebellion,  or  other 
crime,  the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in 
the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall 
bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of 
age  in  such  State. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Representative  in  Con- 
gress, or  elector  of  President  and  Vice-President,  or  hold  any 
office,  civil  or  military,  under  the  United  States  or  under  any 
State,  who,  having  previously  taken  an  oath  as  a  member  of 
Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member 
of  any  State  legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of 
any  State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the 
same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof.  But 
Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  each  house,  remove 
such  disability. 

4.  Tlie  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States,  au- 
thorized by  law,  including  debts  incm-red  for  payment  of  pen- 
sions and  bounties  for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or 
rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned.  But  neither  the  United 
States  nor  any  State  shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation 
incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United 
States,  or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  eiuancii)ation  of  any  slave; 
but  all  such  debts,  obligations,  and  claims  shall  be  held  illegal 
and  void. 

5.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce,  by  appropriate 
legislation,  the  provisions  of  this  article. 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  305 

Article  XV.^ 

1.  The  rio-ht  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not 
be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by  any  State  on 
account  of  race,  colour,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

2.  The  Congress  t^hall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by- 
appropriate  legislation. 


FRANKLIN'S  SPEECH  ON  THE  LAST   DAY  OF 
THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTIONS 

Monday,  Septemher  1 7.  In  Convention  —  The  engrossed 
Constitution  being  read,  Doctor  Franklin  rose  witli  a  speech  in 
his  hand,  which  he  had  reduced  to  writing  fur  his  own  con- 
venience, and  which  Mr.  Wilson  read  in  the  words  following: 

"  Mr.  President. ■  I  confess  that  there  are  several  parts  of 
this  Constitution  which  I  do  not  at  present  approve,  but  1  am  not 
sure  I  shall  never  approve  them.  For,  having  lived  long,  I  have 
experienced  many  instances  of  being  obliged  by  better  informa- 
tion, or  fuller  consideration,  to  change  opinions  even  on  impor- 
tant subjects  which  I  once  thought  right,  but  found  to  be 
otherwise.  It  is  therefore  that,  the  older  I  grow,  the  more  apt 
I  am  to  doubt  my  own  judgment,  and  to  pay  more  respect  to 
tlie  judgment  of  others.  Most  men,  indeed,  as  well  as  most 
sects  in  religion,  think  themselves  in  possession  of  all  truth,  and 
that  wherever  others  differ  from  them  it  is  so  far  error.  Steele, 
a  Protestant,  in  a  dedication  tells  the  Pope  that  the  only  differ- 
ence between  our  churclies,  in  their  opinions  of  tlie  certainty  of 
their  doctrines,  is,  '  the  Church  of  Kome  is  infallible,  and  the 
Church  of  England  is  never  in  the  wrong.'  But  though  many 
private  persons  think  almost  as  highly  of  their  own  infallibility 
as  of  that  of  their  sect,  few  express  it  so  naturall)'  as  a  certain 
French  lady  who,  in  a  dispute  with  her  sister,  said,  '  I  don't  know 
how  it  happens,  sister,  but  I  meet  with  nobody  but  myself  that 
is  always  in  the  right  —  il  n'y  a  que  moi  qui  a  toujours  rai-<nn.^ 
In  these  sentiments,  sir,  I  agree  to  this  Constitution,  with  all  its 

1  Proposed  by  Congress  Feb.  26,  1869,  and  declarod  in  force  March 
30,  1870. 

2  From  Jladison's  Journal,  in  Eliot's  Debates,  vol.  v.  p.  554. 


306  APPENDIX  B. 

faults,  if  they  are  such,  because  I  think  a  General  Government 
necessary  for  us,  and  there  is  no  form  of  government  but  what 
may  be  a  blessing  to  the  people  if  well  administered;  and  believe 
further,  that  this  is  likely  to  be  well  administered  for  a  course 
of  years,  and  can  only  end  in  despotism,  as  other  forms  have 
done  before  it,  when  the  people  shall  become  so  corrupted  as  to 
need  despotic  government,  being  incapable  of  any  other.  I 
doubt,  too,  whether  any  other  Convention  we  can  obtain  may  be 
able  to  make  a  better  Constitution.  For  when  you  assemble  a 
number  of  men  to  have  the  advantage  of  their  joint  wisdom,  you 
inevitably  assemble  with  those  men  all  their  prejudices,  their 
passions,  their  errors  of  opinion,  their  local  interests,  and  their 
selfish  views.  From  such  an  assembly  can  a  perfect  production 
be  expected?  It,  therefore,  astonishes  me,  sir,  to  find  this  sys- 
tem approaching  so  near  to  perfection  as  it  does:  and  I  think  it 
will  astonish  our  enemies,  who  are  waiting  with  confidence  to  hear 
that  our  councils  are  confounded,  like  those  of  the  builders  of 
Babel,  and  that  our  States  are  on  the  point  of  separation,  only  to 
meet  hereafter  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  one  another's  throats. 
Thus  I  consent,  sir,  to  this  Constitution  because  I  expect  no  bet- 
ter, and  because  I  am  not  sure  that  it  is  not  the  best.  The  opin- 
ions I  have  had  of  its  errors  I  sacrifice  to  the  public  good.  I  have 
never  whispered  a  syllable  of  them  abroad.  Within  these  walls 
they  were  born  and  here  they  shall  die.  If  every  one  of  us,  in 
returning  to  our  constituents,  were  to  report  the  objections  he 
has  had  to  it,  and  endeavour  to  gain  partisans  in  supjjort  of  them, 
we  might  prevent  its  being  generally  received,  and  thereby  lose 
all  the  salutary  effects  and  great  advantages  resulting  naturally 
in  our  favour  among  foreign  nations  as  well  as  among  ourselves, 
from  our  real  or  apparent  unanimity.  IMuch  of  the  strength 
and  efficiency  of  any  government,  in  procuring  and  securing 
hnppiness  to  the  people,  depends  on  opinion  —  on  the  general 
tpinion  of  the  goodness  of  the  government  as  well  as  of  tlie  wis- 
dom and  integrity  of  its  governors.  I  liope,  therefore,  that  for 
our  own  sakes,  as  a  part  of  the  people,  and  for  the  sake  of  pos- 
terity, we  shall  act  heartily  and  unanimously  in  recommending 
this  Constitution  (if  approved  by  Congress  and  confirmed  by  the 
Conventions)  wherever  our  influence  may  extend,  and  turn  our 
future  thoughts  and  endeavours  to  the  means  of  having  it  well 
administered.  On  the  whole,  sir,  I  cannot  help  expressing  a 
wish  that  every  member  of  the  Convention  who  may  still  have 
objections  to  it  would,  with  me,  on  this  occasion  doubt  a  little  of 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  307 

his  own  infallibility,  and,  to  make  manifest  our  unanimity,  put 
his  name  to  this  instrument." 

He  then  moved  that  the  Constitution  be  si^nied  by  the  mem- 
bers, and  offered  the  following  as  a  convenient  form,  viz.: 
"■  Done  in  Convention  by  the  unanimous  con^ent  of  the  States 
present  the  seventeenth  of  September,  etc.  In  witness  whereof 
we  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names."  This  ambiguous  form 
had  been  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Gouverneur  Morris,  in  order  to 
gain  the  dissenting  members,  and  put  into  the  hands  of  Doctor 
Franklin,  that  it  might  have  the  better  chance  of  success- 
[Considerable  discussion  followed,  Randolph  and  Gerry  stating 
their  reasons  for  refusing  to  sign  the  Constitution.  Mr.  Hamil- 
ton expressed  his  anxiety  that  every  member  should  sign.  A 
few  cliaracters  of  consequence,  he  said,  by  opposing  or  even  re- 
fusing to  sign  the  Constitution,  might  do  infinite  mischief  by 
kindling  the  latent  sparks  that  lurk  nnder  an  enthusiasm  in 
favour  of  the  Convention  which  may  soon  subside.  No  man's 
ideas  were  more  remote  from  the  plan  than  his  own  were  known 
to  be;  but  is  it  possible  to  deliberate  between  anarchy  and  con- 
vulsion on  one  side,  and  the  chance  of  good  to  be  expected 
from  the  plan  on  the  other?  This  discussion  concluded,  the 
Convention  voted  that  its  journal  and  other  papers  should  be 
retained  by  the  President,  subject  to  the  order  of  Congress.] 
The  members  then  proceeded  to  sign  the  Constitution  as  finally 
amended.  The  Constitution  being  signed  by  all  the  members 
except  Mr.  Randolph,  Mr.  INIason,  and  Mr.  Gerry,  who  declined 
giving  it  the  sanction  of  their  names,  the  Convention  dissolved 
itself  by  an  adjournment  sine  die. 

Whilst  the  last  members  were  signing,  Doctor  Franklin,  look- 
ing towards  the  President's  chair,  at  the  back  of  which  a  rising 
sun  happened  to  be  painted,  observed  to  a  few  members  near 
him  that  painters  had  found  it  difficult  to  distinguish  in  tlieir 
art  a  rising  from  a  setting  sun.  T  have,  said  he,  often  and  often, 
in  the  course  of  the  session,  and  the  vicissitudes  of  my  hoi)es  and 
fears  as  to  its  issue,  looked  at  that  behind  the  President  without 
being  able  to  tell  whether  it  was  rising  or  setting;  but  now,  at 
length,  I  have  the  happiness  to  know  that  it  is  a  rising,  and  not 
a  setting,  sun. 


308  APPENDIX   C. 

APPENDIX    C. 

MAGNA  CHARTA,! 

Or  the  Great  Charter  of  King  John,  granted  June  15,  a.  d. 

1215. 

John,  by  the  Grace  of  Goil,  King  of  EngLmd,  Lord  of  Ire- 
land, Duke  of  Normandy,  Aqiiitaine,  and  Count  of  Anjou,  to  his 
Archbishops,  Bishops,  Abbots,  Earls,  Barons,  Justiciaries,  For- 
esters, Sheriffs,  Governors,  Officers,  and  to  all  Bailiffs,  and  his 
faithful  subjects,  greeting.  Know  ye,  that  we,  in  the  presence 
of  God,  and  for  the  salvation  of  our  soul,  and  the  souls  of  all 
our  ancestors  and  heirs,  and  unto  the  honour  of  God  and  the 
advancement  of  Holy  Church,  and  amenthiient  of  our  Realm, 
by  advice  of  our  venerable  Fathers,  Stephen,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  Primate  of  all  England  and  Cardinal  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Church  :  Henry,  Archbishop  of  Dublin  ;  AV^illiani,  of 
London;  Peter,  of  Winchester;  Jocelin  of  Bath  and  Glaston- 
bury; Hugh,  of  Lincoln;  Walter,  of  Worcester;  William,  of 
Coventry ;  Benedict,  of  Rochester  —  Bishops  :  of  Master  Pan- 
dulph.  Sub- Deacon  and  Familiar  of  our  Lord  the  Pope  ;  Brother 
Aymeric,  Master  of  the  Knights-Templars  in  England;  and  of 
the  noble  Persons,  William  Marescall,  Earl  of  Pembroke  ;  W^il- 
liani.  Earl  of  Salisbury  ;  William,  Earl  of  Warren  ;  William, 
Earl  of  Arundel;  Alan  de  Galloway,  Constable  of  Scotland; 
Warin  FitzGerald,  Peter  Fitz Herbert,  and  Hubert  de  Burgh, 
Seneschal  of  Poitou;  Hugh  de  Neville,  Matthew  FitzHerbert, 
Thomas  Basset,  Alan  Basset,  Philip  of  Albiney,  Robert  de  Rop- 
pell,  John  Mareschal,  John  FitzHugh,  and  others,  our  liegemen, 
have,  in  the  first  place,  granted  to  God,  and  by  this  our  present 
Charter  confirmed,  for  us  and  our  heirs  for  ever:  — 

1.  That  the  Church  of  England  shnll  be  free,  and  have  her 
■whole  rights,  and  her  liberties  inviolable  ;  and  we  will  have 
them  so  observed,  that  it  may  appear  thence  that  the  freedom 
of  elections,  which  is  reckoned  chief  and  indispensable  to  the 
English  Church,  and  which  we  granted  and  confirmed  by  our 
Charter,  and  obtained  the  confirmation  of  the  same  from  our 
Lord  the  Pope  Innocent  III.,  before  the  discord  between  us  and 
our  barons,  was  granted  of  mere  free  will  ;  which  Charter  we 

1  I  have,  by  permission,  reproduced  the  Old  South  Lenjiet,  with  its 
notes,  etc.,  in  full 


MAGNA    CHART  A.  309 

shall  observe,  and  we  do  will  it  to  be  faithfully  observed  by  our 
heirs  for  ever. 

2.  We  also  have  granted  to  all  the  freemen  of  our  kingdom, 
for  us  and  for  our  heirs  for  ever,  all  the  underwritten  liberti«-s,  to 
be  had  and  holden  by  them  and  their  heirs,  of  us  and  our  heirs 
for  ever  :  If  any  of  our  earls,  or  barons,  or  others,  who  hold  of 
us  in  chief  by  military  service,  shall  die,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  his  heir  shall  be  of  full  age,  and  owe  a  relief,  he  shall  have 
his  inheritance  by  the  ancient  relief  —  that  is  to  say,  the  heir  or 
heirs  of  an  earl,  for  a  whole  earldom,  by  a  hundred  pounds  ;  the 
heir  or  heirs  of  a  baron,  for  a  whole  barony,  by  a  hundred 
pounds  ;  the  heir  or  heirs  of  a  knight,  for  a  whole  knight's  fee, 
by  a  hundred  shillings  at  most  ;  and  whoever  oweth  less  shall 
give  less,  according  to  the  ancient  custom  of  fees. 

3.  But  if  the  heir  of  any  such  shall  be  under  age,  and  shall 
be  in  ward,  wben  he  comes  of  age  he  shall  have  his  inheritance 
without  relief  and  without  fine. 

4.  The  keeper  of  the  land  of  such  an  heir  bting  under  age, 
shall  take  of  the  land  of  the  heir  none  but  reasonable  issues, 
reasonable  customs,  and  reasonable  services,  and  that  without 
destruction  and  waste  of  his  men  and  his  goods  ;  and  if  we 
commit  the  custody  of  any  such  lands  to  the  sheriff,  or  any 
other  who  is  answerable  to  us  for  the  issues  of  the  land,  and  he 
shall  make  destruction  and  waste  of  the  lands  which  he  hath  in 
custody,  we  will  take  of  him  amends,  and  the  land  shall  be 
committed  to  two  lawful  and  discreet  men  of  that  fee,  who  shall 
answer  for  the  issues  to  us,  or  to  him  to  whom  we  shall  assign 
them;  and  if  we  sell  or  give  to  any  one  the  custody  of  any  such 
lands,  and  he  therein  make  destruction  or  waste,  he  shall  lose 
the  same  custody,  which  shall  be  committed  to  two  lawful  and 
discreet  men  of  that  fee,  who  shall  in  like  manner  answer  to  us 
as  aforesaid. 

6.  But  the  keeper,  so  long  as  he  shall  have  the  custody  of  the 
land,  shall  keep  up  the  houses,  parks,  warrens,  ponds,  mills,  and 
other  things  pertaining  to  the  land,  out  of  the  issues  of  the  same 
land  ;  and  shall  deliver  to  the  heir,  when  he  comes  of  full  age, 
his  whole  land,  stocked  with  ploughs  and  carriages,  according  as 
the  time  of  wainage  shall  require,  and  the  issues  of  the  land  can 
reasonably  bear. 

6.  Heirs  shall  be  married  without  disparagement,  and  so  that 
before  matrimony  shall  be  contracted,  those  who  arc  near  ia 
blood  to  the  heir  shall  have  notice. 


310  APPENDIX  C. 

7.  A  widow,  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  shall  forthwith 
and  without  difficulty  have  her  marriage  and  inheritance;  nor 
fihall  she  give  anything  for  her  dower,  or  her  marriage,  or  her 
inlieritance,  which  her  husband  and  she  held  at  the  day  of  his 
death;  and  she  may  remain  in  the  mansion  house  of  her  hus- 
band forty  days  after  his  death,  within  which  time  her  dower 
shall  be  assigned. 

8.  No  widow  shall  be  distrained  to  marry  herself,  so  long  as 
she  has  a  mind  to  live  without  a  husband  ;  but  yet  she  shall  give 
security  that  she  will  not  marry  without  our  assent,  if  she  hold 
of  us  ;  or  without  the  consent  of  the  lord  of  "whom  she  holds,  if 
she  hold  of  another. 

9.  Neither  we  nor  our  bailiffs  shall  seize  any  land  or  rent  for 
any  debt  so  long  as  the  chattels  of  the  debtor  are  sufficient  to 
pay  the  debt  ;  nor  shall  the  sureties  of  the  debtor  be  distrained 
so  long  as  the  principal  debtor  has  sufficient  to  pay  the  debt; 
and  if  the  principal  debtor  shall  fail  in  the  payment  of  the  debt, 
not  having  wherewithal  to  pay  it,  then  the  sureties  shall  answer 
the  debt ;  and  if  they  will  they  shall  have  the  lands  and  rents  of 
the  debtor,  until  they  shall  be  satisfied  for  the  debt  which  they 
paid  for  him,  unless  the  principal  debtor  can  show  himself  ac- 
quitted thereof  against  the  said  sureties. 

10.  If  any  one  have  borrowed  anything  of  the  Jews,  more  or 
less,  and  die  before  the  debt  be  satisfied,  there  shall  be  no  intei*- 
est  paid  for  that  debt,  so  long  as  the  heir  is  under  age,  of  whom- 
soever he  may  hold  ;  and  if  the  debt  falls  into  our  hands,  we 
will  only  take  the  chattel  mentioned  in  the  deed. 

11.  And  if  any  one  shall  die  indebted  to  the  Jews,  his  wife 
shall  have  her  dower  and  pay  nothing  of  that  debt ;  and  if  the 
deceased  left  children  under  age,  they  shall  have  necessaries 
provided  for  them,  according  to  the  tenement  of  the  deceased  ; 
and  out  of  the  residue  the  debt  shall  be  paid,  saving,  liowever, 
the  service  due  to  the  lords,  and  in  like  manner  shall  it  be  done 
touching  debts  due  to  others  than  the  Jews. 

12.  No  sculage  or  aid^  shall  be  imposed  in  our  kiiKjdom,  unless 
bii  the  (jeneral  council  of  our  kingdom ;  excej)t  for  ransoming  our 
person,  making  our  eldest  son  a  knight,  and  once  for  marrying 

1  In  the  time  of  the  feudal  system  scutage  was  a  direct  tax  in  com- 
mutation for  military  siTvicc  ;  aids  were  direct  taxes  paid  by  the 
tenant  to  his  lord  for  ransomin<j  hjs  person  if  taken  captive,  and  for 
helping  defray  tlie  expenses  of  knighting  his  eldest  son  and  marrying 
his  eldest  daughter. 


MAGNA    CHARTA.  311 

our  eldest  daughter ;  and  £or  these  there  !^haU  be  paid  no  more 
than  a  reasonable  aid.  In  like  manner  it  shall  be  concerning 
the  aids  of  the  City  of  London. 

13.  And  the  City  of  London  shall  have  all  its  ancient  liberties 
and  free  customs,  as  well  by  land  as  by  water  :  furthermore,  we 
will  and  grant  that  all  other  cities  and  boroughs,  and  towns  and 
ports,  shall  have  all  their  liberties  and  free  customs. 

14.  And  for  holding  the  general  council  of  the  kingdom  con- 
cerning the  assessment  of  aids,  except  in  the  three  cases  aforesaid, 
and  for  the  assessing  of  scutages,  we  shall  cause  to  be  summoned  the 
archbishops,  bishops,  abbots,  earls,  and  greater  barons  of  the  realm, 
singly  by  our  letters.  A  Jid  furthermore,  we  shall  cause  to  be  sum- 
moned generally,  by  our  sheriffs  and  bailiffs,  all  others  who  hold  of 
us  in  chief,  for  a  certain  day,  that  is  to  say,  forty  days  before  their 
meeting  at  least,  and  to  a  certain  place ;  and  in  all  letters  of  such 
summons  we  will  declare  the  cause  of  such  su7nmons.  And  sum- 
mons being  thus  made,  the  business  shall  proceed  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed, according  to  the  advice  of  such  as  shall  be  ^^resew^, 
although  all  that  were  summoned  come  not. 

15.  We  will  not  for  the  future  grant  to  any  one  that  he  may 
take  aid  of  his  own  free  tenants,  unless  to  ransom  his  body, 
and  to  make  his  eldest  son  a  knight,  and  once  to  marry  his 
eldest  daughter  ;  and  for  this  there  shall  be  only  paid  a  reason- 
able aid. 

16.  No  man  shall  he  distrained  to  perform  more  service  for  a 
knii^ht's  fee,  or  other  free  tenement,  than  is  due  from  thence. 

17.  Common  pleas  shall  not  follow  our  court,  but  shall  be 
holden  in  some  place  certain. 

18.  Trials  upon  the  Writs  of  Novel  Disseisin,^  and  of  Mort 
d'ancestor,2  and  of  Darrein  Presentment,^  shall  not  be  taken 
but  in  their  proper  counties,  and  after  this  manner  :  We,  or  if 
we  should  be  out  of  the  realm,  our  chief  justiciary,  will  send 
two  justiciaries  through  every  county  four  times  a  year,  who, 
with  four  knights  of  each  county,  chosen  by  the  county,  shall 
hold  the  said  assizes  4  in  the  county,  on  the  day,  and  at  the  place 
appointed. 

^  Dispossession. 

2  Death  of  the  ancestor ;  that  is,  in  cases  of  disputed  succession  to 
land. 

^  Last  presentation  to  a  benefice. 

*  The  word  Assixe  here  means  "an  assembly  of  knights  or  other 
substantial  persons,  held  at  a  ccriain  time  and  j)lace  where  they  sit 


312  APPENDIX    C. 

19.  And  if  any  matters  cannot  be  determined  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed for  holding  the  assizes  in  each  county,  so  many  of  the 
knights  and  freeholders  as  have  been  at  the  assizes  aforesaid  shall 
stay  to  decide  them  as  is  necessary,  according  as  there  is  more 
or  less  business. 

20.  A  freeman  shall  not  be  amerced  for  a  small  offence,  but 
only  according  to  the  degree  of  the  offence  ;  and  for  a  great 
crime  according  to  the  heinousness  of  it,  saving  to  him  his  con- 
tenement  ;  1  and  after  the  same  manner  a  merchant,  saving  to 
him  his  merchandise.  And  a  villein  shall  be  amerced  after  the 
same  manner,  saving  to  him  his  wainage,  if  he  falls  under  our 
mercy  ;  and  none  of  the  aforesaid  amerciaments  shall  be  assessed 
but  by  the  oath  of  honest  men  in  the  neighbourhood. 

21.  Earls  and  barons  shall  not  be  amerced  but  by  their  peers, 
and  after  the  degree  of  the  offence. 

22.  No  ecclesiastical  person  shall  be  amerced  for  his  lay 
tenement,  but  according  to  the  proportion  of  the  others  afore- 
said, and  not  according  to  the  value  of  his  ecclesiastical  bene- 
fice. 

23.  Neither  a  town  nor  any  tenant  shdl  be  distrained  to  make 
bridges  or  embankments,  unless  that  anciently  and  of  right  they 
are  bound  to  do  it. 

24.  No  sheriff,  constable,  coroner,  or  other  our  bailiffs,  shall 
hold  "  Pleas  of  the  Crown."  2 

25.  All  counties,  hundreds,  -wapentakes,  and  tretliings,  shall 
stand  at  the  old  rents,  without  any  increase,  except  in  our 
demesne  manors. 

26.  If  any  one  holding  of  us  a  lay  fee  die,  and  the  sheriff,  or 
our  bailiffs,  show  our  letters  patent  of  summons  for  debt  which 
the  dead  man  did  owe  to  us,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  sheriff  or 
our  bailiff  to  attach  and  register  the  chattels  of  the  dead,  found 
upon  his  lay  fee,  to  the  amount  of  the  debt,  by  the  view  of  law- 
ful men,  so  as  nothing  be  removed  until  our  whole  clear  debt  be 
paid  ;  and  the  rest  shall  be  left  to  the  executors  to  fulfil  the  tes- 
tament of  the  dead  ;  and  if  there  be  nothing  due  from  him  to 

with  the  Justice.  '  Assisa '  or  '  Assize  '  is  iilso  taken  for  the  court, 
])lace,  or  time  at  which  the  writs  of  Assize  are  taken." —  Thompsoii's 
Notes. 

1  "  That  by  which  a  person  subsists  and  which  is  essential  to  his 
rank  in  life." 

2  These  are  suits  conducted  in  the  name  of  the  Crown  against  ciim- 
inal  offenders. 


MAG^A    CHART  A.  313 

us,  all  the  chattels  shall  go  to  the  use  of  the  dead,  sa\  ing  to  his 
wife  and  children  their  reasonable  shares.^ 

27.  If  any  freeman  shall  die  intestate,  his  chattels  shall  be 
distributed  by  the  hands  of  his  nearest  relations  and  friends,  by 
view  of  the  Church,  saving  to  every  one  his  debts  which  the 
deceased  owed  to  him. 

28.  No  constable  or  bailiff  of  ours  shall  take  corn  or  other 
chattels  of  any  man  unless  he  presently  give  him  money  for  it, 
or  hath  respite  of  payment  by  the  good-will  of  the  seller. 

29.  No  constable  shall  distrain  any  knight  to  give  money  for 
castle-guard,  if  he  himself  will  do  it  in  his  person,  or  by  another 
able  man,  in  case  he  cannot  do  it  through  any  reasonable  c:iuse. 
And  if  we  have  carried  or  sent  him  into  the  army,  he  shall  be 
free  from  such  guard  for  the  time  he  shall  be  in  the  army  by  our 
command. 

30.  No  sheriff  or  bailiff  of  ours,  or  any  other,  shall  take 
horses  or  carts  of  any  freeman  for  carriage,  without  the  assent 
of  the  said  freeman. 

31.  Neither  shall  we  nor  our  bailiffs  take  any  man's  timber 
for  our  castles  or  other  uses,  unless  by  the  consent  of  the  owner 
of  the  timber. 

32.  We  will  retain  the  lands  of  those  convicted  of  felony  only 
one  year  and  a  day,  and  then  they  shall  be  delivered  to  the  lord 
of  the  fee.2 

33.  All  kydells  ^  (wears)  for  the  time  to  come  shall  be  put 
down  in  the  rivers  of  Thames  and  Medway,  and  throughout  all 
England,  except  upon  the  sea-coast. 

1  A  person's  goods  were  divided  into  three  parts,  of  which  one  went 
to  his  wife,  auuthor  to  his  heirs,  and  a  third  he  was  at  liberty  to  dis- 
pose of.  If  lie  had  no  cliild,  his  widow  liad  half;  aud  if  he  hud  chil- 
dren, but  no  wife,  half  was  divided  amongst  them.  These  several 
sums  were  called  "  reasonable  shares."  Through  the  testamentary 
jurisdiction  they  gradually  acquired,  the  clergy  often  contrived  to  get 
into  their  own  hands  all  the  residue  of  the  estate  without  paying  the 
debts  of  the  estate. 

^  All  forfeiture  for  felony  has  been  abolished  by  the  33  and  34  Vic, 
c.  23.  It  seems  to  have  originated  in  the  destruction  of  tlie  felon's 
property  being  part  of  the  sentence,  and  this  "waste"  being  com- 
muted for  temporary  i)ossession  by  the  Crown. 

^  The  purport  of  this  was  to  prevent  indosures  of  cummon  prop- 
erty, or  committing  a  "  Purpresture."  These  wears  arc  uow  called 
"  kettles"  or  "  kettle-nets  "  in  Kent  and  Cornwall. 


314-  APPENDIX  C. 

34.  The  writ  which  is  called  praecipe,  for  the  future,  shall  not 
be  tnade  out  to  any  one,  of  any  tenement,  whereby  a  freeman 
mny  lose  his  court. 

35.  There  shall  be  one  measure  of  wine  and  one  of  ale  through 
our  whole  realm  ;  .and  one  measure  of  corn,  that  is  to  say,  the 
London  quarter;  and  one  breadth  of  dyed  cloth,  and  russets,  and 
habcrjeets,  that  is  to  say,  two  ells  within  the  lists  ;  and  it  shall 
be  of  weiiihts  as  it  is  of  measures. 

36.  Nothing  from  henceforth  shall  he  given  or  taken  for  a  ivrit 
of  inquisition  of  life  or  limh,  but  it  shall  he  granted  freely,  and 
not  denied.^ 

37.  If  any  do  hold  of  us  by  fee-farm,  or  by  socage,  or  by  bur- 
gage, and  he  hold  also  lands  of  any  other  by  knight's  service, 
we  will  not  have  the  custody  of  the  heir  or  land,  which  is  holden 
of  another  man's  fee  by  reason  of  that  fee-farm,  socage,^  or  bur- 
gage; neither  will  we  have  the  custody  of  the  fee-farm,  or  socage, 
or  burgage,  unless  knight's  service  was  due  to  us  out  of  the  same 
fee-farm.  We  will  not  have  the  custody  of  an  heir,  nor  of  any 
land  which  he  holds  of  another  by  knight's  service,  by  reason  of 
any  petty  serjeanty  ^  by  which  he  holds  of  us,  by  the  service  of 
paying  a  knife,  an  arrow,  or  the,  like. 

38.  No  bailiff  from  henceforth  shall  put  any  man  to  his  law  * 
upon  his  own  bare  saying,  without  credible  witnesses  to  prove  it. 

39.  No  freeman  shall  he  taken  or  imprisoned,  or  disseised,  or 
outlawed,  or  banished,  or  any  ways  destroyed,  nor  will  we  pass 
upon  him,  nor  will  we  send  upon  him,  unless  by  the  lawful  judg- 
ment of  his  peers,  or  by  the  law  of  the  land. 

40.  We  will  sell  to  no  man,  we  will  not  deny  to  any  man,  either 
justice  or  right. 

41.  All  merchants  shall  have  safe  and  secure  conduct,  to  go 

^  This  important  writ,  or  "writ  concerninfr  hatred  arid  malice," 
may  have  been  the  prototype  of  the  writ  of  habeas  coi-jnis,  and  was 
granted  for  a  similar  ]iurp()se. 

'^  "Socage"  signifies  lands  held  by  tenure  of  performing  certain 
inferior  offices  in  luisbandry,  probably  from  the  old  French  word  soc, 
a  plough-share. 

^  The  tenure  of  giving  the  king  some  small  weapon  of  war  in 
acknowledgment  of  lands  held. 

*  Equivalent  to  putting  him  to  his  o:ith.  This  alludes  to  the 
Wager  of  Law,  by  whicli  a  defendant  and  his  eleven  supporters  or 
"compurgators"  could  swear  to  his  noudiabiliiy,  and  this  amounted 
to  a  verdict  in  liis  favour. 


MAGNA    CHART  A.  315 

out  of,  and  to  come  into  England,  and  to  stay  there  and  to  pass 
as  well  by  land  as  by  water,  for  buying  and  selling  by  the 
ancient  and  allowed  customs,  without  any  unjust  tolls;  except 
in  time  of  war,  or  when  they  are  of  any  nation  at  war  with  us. 
And  if  there  be  found  any  such  in  our  land,  in  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  they  shall  be  attached,  without  damage  to  their  bodies 
or  goods,  until  it  be  known  unto  us,  or  our  chief  justiciary, 
how  our  merchants  be  treated  in  the  nation  at  war  with  us;  and 
if  ours  be  safe  there,  the  others  shall  be  safe  in  our  dominions. 

42.  It  shall  be  lawful,  for  the  time  to  come,  for  any  one  to  go 
out  of  our  kingdom,  and  return  safely  and  securely  by  land  or 
by  water,  saving  his  allegiance  to  us;  unless  in  time  of  war,  by 
some  short  space,  for  the  common  benefit  of  the  realm,  except 
prisoners  and  outlaws,  according  to  the  law  of  the  land,  and 
people  in  war  with  us,  and  merchants  who  shall  be  treated  as  is 
above  mentioned.^ 

43.  If  any  man  hold  of  any  escheat,^  as  of  the  honour  of  Wal- 
hngford,  Nottingham,  Boulogne,  Lancaster,  or  of  other  escheats 
which  be  in  our  hands,  and  are  baronies,  and  die,  his  heir  shall 
give  no  other  relief,  and  perform  no  other  service  to  us  than  he 
would  to  tlie  baron,  if  it  were  in  the  baron's  hand ;  and  we  will 
hold  it  after  the  same  manner  as  the  baron  held  it. 

44.  Those  men  who  dwell  without  the  forest  from  henceforth 
shall  not  come  before  our  justiciaries  of  the  forest,  upon  com- 
mon summons,  but  such  as  are  impleaded,  or  are  sureties  for 
any  that  are  attached  for  something  concerning  the  forest.^ 

45.  We  will  not  make  any  justices,  constables,  sheriffs,  or 
bailiffs,  but  of  such  as  know  the  law  of  the  realm  and  mean 
duly  to  observe  it. 

46.  All  barons  who  have  founded  abbeys,  which  they  hold  by 
charter  from  the  kings  of  England,  or  by  ancient  tenure,  shall 
have  the  keeping  of  them,  when  vacant,  as  they  ought  to  have. 

1  The  Crown  has  still  technically  the  power  of  confiuing  subjects 
within  the  kinjrdom  by  the  writ  "  ne  exeat  regno,"  though  the  use  of 
the  writ  is  rarely  resorted  to. 

2  The  word  escheat  is  derived  from  the  French  escheoir,  to  return 
or  happen,  and  signifies  the  return  of  an  estate  to  a  lord,  either  on 
faihire  of  tenant's  issue  or  on  his  committing  felony.  The  abolition 
of  feudal  tenures  by  the  Act  of  Charles  11.  (12  Charles  II.  c.  24) 
rendered  obsolete  this  part  and  many  other  parts  of  the  Charter. 

3  The  laws  for  rcgubiting  the  royal  forests,  and  administering  jus- 
tice in  respect  of  offences  committed  in  their  precincts,  formed  a  large 
part  of  the  law. 


316  APPENDIX  C. 

47.  All  forests  that  have  been  made  forests  in  our  time  shall 
forthwith  be  disforested;  and  the  same  shall  be  done  with  the 
water-banks  that  have  been  fenced  in  by  us  in  our  time. 

48.  All  evil  customs  concerning  forests,  warrens,  foresters, 
and  warreners,  sherifl's  and  their  officers,  water-banks  and  their 
keepers,  shall  forthwith  be  inquired  into  in  each  county,  by 
twelve  sworn  knights  of  the  same  county,  chosen  by  creditable 
persons  of  the  same  county;  and  within  forty  days  after  the  said 
inquest  be  utterly  abolished,  so  as  never  to  be  restored  :  so  as 
we  are  first  acquainted  therewith,  or  our  justiciary,  if  we  should 
not  be  in  England. 

49.  We  will  immediately  give  up  all  hostages  and  charters 
delivered  unto  us  by  our  English  subjects,  as  securities  for  their 
keeping  the  peace,  and  yielding  us  faithful  service. 

50.  We  will  entirely  remove  from  their  bailiwicks  the  rela- 
tions of  Gerard  de  Atheyes,  so  that  for  the  future  they  bhall 
have  no  bailiwick  in  England;  we  will  also  remove  Engelard  de 
Cygony,  Andrew,  Peter,  and  Gyon,  from  the  Chancery;  Gyon 
de  Cygony,  Geoffrey  de  Martyn,  and  his  brothers;  Philip  Mark, 
and  his  brothers,  and  his  nephew,  Geoffrey,  and  tlieir  whole 
retinue. 

51.  As  soon  as  peace  is  restored,  we  will  send  out  of  the 
kingdom  all  foreign  knights,  cross-bowmen,  and  stipendiaries, 
who  are  come  with  horses  and  arms  to  the  molestation  of  our 
people. 

52.  If  any  one  has  been  dispossessed  or  deprived  by  us,  with- 
out the  lawful  judgment  of  his  peers,  of  his  lands,  castles,  liber- 
ties, or  right,  we  will  forthwith  restore  them  to  him;  and  if  any 
dispute  arise  upon  this  head,  let  the  matter  be  decided  by  the 
five-and-twenty  barons  hereafter  mentioned,  for  the  preservation 
of  the  peace.  And  for  all  those  things  of  which  any  person  has, 
without  the  lawfid  judgment  of  his  peers,  been  dispossessed  or 
deprived,  either  by  our  father  King  Henry,  or  our  brother  King 
Richard,  and  which  we  have  in  our  hands,  or  are  possessed  by 
others,  and  we  are  bound  to  warrant  and  make  good,  we  shall 
liave  a  respite  till  the  term  usually  allowed  the  crusaders ;  ex- 
cepting those  things  about  which  there  is  a  jHea  depending,  or 
whereof  an  inquest  hath  been  made,  by  our  order  before  we 
undertook  the  crusade  ;  but  as  soon  as  we  return  from  our  expe- 
dition, or  if  perchance  we  tarry  at  home  and  do  not  make  our 
expedition,  we  will  immediately  cause  full  justice  to  be  adminis- 
tered therein. 


MAGNA    CHART  A.  317 

53.  The  same  respite  we  shall  have,  and  in  the  same  manner, 
about  administering  justice,  disafforesting  or  letting  continue 
the  forests,  which  Henry  our  father,  and  our  brother  Richard, 
have  afforested  ;  and  the  same  concerning  the  wardship  of  the 
lands  which  are  in  another's  fee,  but  the  wardship  of  which  we 
have  hitherto  had,  by  reason  of  a  fee  held  of  us  by  knight's  ser- 
vice ;  and  for  the  abbeys  founded  in  any  other  fee  than  our  own, 
in  which  the  lord  of  the  fee  says  he  has  a  right  ;  and  when  we 
return  from  our  expedition,  or  if  we  tarry  at  home,  and  do  not 
make  our  expedition,  we  will  immediately  do  full  justice  to  all 
the  complainants  in  this  behalf. 

54.  No  man  shall  be  taken  or  imprisoned  upon  the  appeal^  of 
a  woman,  for  the  death  of  any  other  than  her  husband. 

55.  All  unjust  and  illegal  fines  made  by  us,  and  all  amercia- 
ments imposed  unjustly  and  contrary  to  the  law  of  the  land, 
shall  be  entirely  given  up,  or  else  be  left  to  the  decision  of  the 
five-and-twenty  bai'ons  hereafter  mentioned  for  the  preservation 
of  the  peace,  or  of  the  major  part  of  them,  together  with  the 
aforesaid  Stephen,  Archbi^^hop  of  Canterbury,  if  he  can  be  pres- 
ent, and  others  whom  he  shall  think  fit  to  invite  ;  and  if  he  can- 
not be  present,  the  business  shall  notwithstanding  go  on  without 
him ;  but  so  that  if  one  or  more  of  the  aforesaid  five-and-twenty 
barons  be  plaintiffs  in  the  same  cause,  they  shall  be  set  aside  as 
to  what  concerns  this  particular  affair,  and  others  be  chosen  in 
their  room,  out  of  the  said  five-and-twenty,  and  sworn  by  the 
rest  to  decide  the  matter. 

56.  If  we  have  disseised  or  dispossessed  the  Welsh  of  any 
lands,  liberties,  or  other  things,  without  the  legal  judgment  of 
their  peers,  either  in  England  or  in  Wales,  they  shall  be  imme- 
diately restored  to  them  ;  and  if  any  dispute  arise  upon  this 
head,  the  matter  shall  be  determined  in  the  Marches  by  the 
judgment  of  their  peers  ;  for  tenements  in  England  according 
to  the  law  of  England,  for  tenements  in  Wales  according  to  the 
law  of  Wales,  for  tenements  of  the  Marches  according  to  the 
law  of  the  Marches  :  the  same  shall  the  Welsh  do  to  us  and  our 
subjects. 

^  An  Appeal  here  means  an  "accusation."'  The  n])peal  here  men- 
tioned was  a  suit  for  a  penalty  in  which  the  plaintiff  was  a  rehitiou 
who  had  suffered  through  a  murder  or  mansliuighter.  One  of  the  in- 
cidents of  this  "Appeal  of  Death"  was  tlie  Trial  by  Biittle.  These 
Appeals  and  Trial  by  Battle  were  not  abolished  before  the  jiassiui^  of 
the  Act  59  Geo.  III.,  c.  46. 


318  APPENDIX  C. 

57.  As  for  all  those  things  of  which  a  Welshman  hath,  with- 
out the  lawful  judgment  of  his  peers,  been  disseised  or  deprived 
of  by  King  Henry  our  father,  or  our  brother  King  Richard,  and 
which  we  either  have  in  our  hands  or  others  are  possessed  of, 
and  we  are  obliged  to  warrant  it,  we  shall  have  a  respite  till 
the  time  generally  allowed  the  crusaders  ;  excepting  those 
things  about  which  a  suit  is  depending,  or  whereof  an  inquest 
has  been  made  by  our  order,  before  we  undertook  the  crusade  : 
but  when  we  return,  or  if  we  stay  at  home  without  perform- 
ing our  expedition,  we  will  immediately  do  them  full  justice, 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  Welsh  and  of  the  parts  before 
mentioned. 

58.  We  will  without  delay  dismiss  the  son  of  Llewellin,  and 
all  the  Welsh  hostages,  and  release  them  from  the  engagements 
they  have  entered  into  with  us  for  the  preservation  of  the 
peace. 

59.  We  will  treat  with  Alexander,  King  of  Scots,  concerning 
the  restoring  his  sisters  and  hostages,  and  his  right  and  liber- 
ties, in  the  same  form  and  manner  as  we  shall  do  to  the  rest 
of  our  barons  of  England  ;  unless  by  the  charters  whicli  we  have 
from  his  father,  AVilliam,  late  King  of  Scots,  it  ought  to  be  other- 
wise ;  and  this  shall  be  left  to  the  determination  of  his  peers  in 
our  court. 

60.  All  the  aforesaid  customs  and  liberties,  which  we  have 
granted  to  be  holden  in  our  kingdom,  as  much  as  it  belongs  to 
us,  all  people  of  our  kingdom,  as  well  clergy  as  laity,  shall  ob- 
serve, as  far  as  they  are  concerned,  towards  their  dependents. 

01.  And  whereas,  for  the  honour  of  God  and  the  amendment 
of  our  kingdom,  and  for  the  better  quieting  the  discord  that  has 
arisen  between  us  and  our  barons,  we  have  granted  all  these 
things  aforesaid  ;  willing  to  render  them  firm  and  lasting,  we  do 
give  and  grant  our  subjects  the  underwritten  security,  namely 
that  the  barons  may  choose  five-and-twenty  barons  of  the  king- 
dom, whom  they  think  convenient  ;  who  shall  take  care,  with 
all  their  might,  to  hold  and  observe,  and  cause  to  be  observed, 
the  peace  and  liberties  we  have  granted  them,  and  by  this  our 
present  Charter  confirmed  in  this  manner  ;  that  is  to  say,  that 
if  we,  our  justiciary,  our  bailiffs,  or  any  of  our  officers,  shall  ia 
any  circumstance  have  failed  in  the  performance  of  them  to- 
wards any  person,  or  shall  have  broken  through  any  of  these 
articles  of  peace  and  security,  and  the  offence  be  notified  to 
four  barons  chosen  out  of  the  five  and-tweiity  before  mentioned, 


MAGNyi    CHART  A.  319 

the  said  four  barons  shall  repair  to  us,  or  our  justiciary,  if  we 
are  out  of  the  realm,  and,  laving  open  the  grievance,  shall 
petition  to  have  it  redressed  without  delay:  and  if  it  be  not  re- 
dressed by  us,  or  if  we  should  chance  to  be  out  of  the  realm, 
if  it  should  not  be  redressed  by  our  justiciary  within  forty  days, 
reckoning  from  the  time  it  has  been  notified  to  us,  or  to  our 
justiciary  (if  we  should  be  out  of  the  realm),  the  four  barons 
aforesaid  shall  lay  the  cause  before  the  rest  of  the  five-and- 
twenty  barons ;  and  the  said  five-and-twenty  barons,  together 
■with  the  community  of  the  whole  kingdom,  shall  distrain  and 
distress  us  in  all  the  ways  in  which  they  shall  be  able,  by 
seizing  our  castles,  lands,  possessions,  and  in  any  other  manner 
they  can,  till  the  grievance  is  redressed,  according  to  their 
pleasure  ;  saving  harmless  our  own  person,  and  the  persons  of 
our  Queen  and  children  ;  and  when  it  is  redressed,  they  shall 
behave  to  us  as  before.  And  any  person  whatsoever  in  the 
kingdom  may  swear  that  he  will  obey  the  orders  of  the  five-and- 
twenty  barons  aforesaid  in  the  execution  of  the  premises,  and 
will  distress  us,  jointly  with  them,  to  the  utmost  of  his  power  ; 
and  we  give  public  and  free  liberty  to  any  one  that  shall  please 
to  swear  to  this,  and  never  will  hinder  any  person  from  taking 
the  same  oath. 

62.  As  for  all  those  of  our  subjects  who  will  not,  of  their 
own  accord,  swear  to  join  the  five-and-twenty  barons  in  distrain- 
ing and  dit^tressing  us,  we  will  issue  orders  to  make  tliem  take 
the  same  oath  as  aforesaid.  And  if  any  one  of  the  five-and- 
twenty  barons  dies,  or  goes  out  of  the  kingdom,  or  is  hindered 
any  other  way  from  carrying  the  things  aforesaid  into  execution, 
the  rest  of  the  said  five-and-twenty  barons  may  choose  another 
in  his  room,  at  their  discretion,  who  shall  be  sworn  in  like  man- 
ner as  the  rest.  In  all  things  that  are  committed  to  the  execution 
of  these  five-and-twenty  barons,  if,  when  tliey  are  all  assembled 
together,  they  should  happen  to  disagree  about  any  matter,  and 
some  of  them,  when  summoned,  will  not  or  cannot  come,  what- 
ever is  agreed  upon,  or  enjoined,  by  the  major  part  of  those 
that  are  present  shall  be  reputed  as  firm  and  valid  as  if  all  the 
five-and-twenty  had  given  their  consent  ;  and  the  aforesaid  five- 
and-twenty  shall  swear  that  all  the  premises  they  shall  faithfully 
observe,  and  cause  with  all  their  power  to  be  observed.  And 
we  will  procure  nothing  from  any  one,  by  ourselves  nor  by 
another,  whereby  any  of  these  concessions  and  liberties  may  be 
revoked  or  lessened  ;  and  if  any  such  thing  shall  have  been  ob- 


320  APPENDIX  C. 

tained,  let  it  be  null  and  void ;  neither  will  we  ever  make  use  of 
it  either  by  ourselves  or  any  other.  And  all  the  ill-will,  indig- 
nations, and  rancours  that  have  arisen  between  us  and  our  sub- 
jects, of  the  clergy  and  laity,  from  the  first  breaking  out  of  the 
dissensions  between  us,  we  do  fully  remit  and  forgive  :  moreover, 
all  trespasses  occasioned  by  the  said  dissensions,  from  Easter  in 
the  sixteenth  year  of  our  reign  till  the  restoration  of  peace  and 
tranquillity,  we  hereby  entirely  remit  to  all,  both  clergy  and  laity, 
and  as  far  as  in  us  lies  do  fully  forgive.  We  have,  moreover, 
caused  to  be  made  for  them  the  letters  patent  testimonial  of 
Stephen,  Lord  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Henry,  Lord  Arch- 
bishop of  Dublin,  and  the  bishops  aforesaid,  as  also  of  Master 
Pandulph,  for  the  security  and  concessions  aforesaid. 

63.  Wherefore  we  will  and  firmly  enjoin,  that  the  Church  of 
England  be  free,  and  that  all  men  in  our  kingdom  have  and  hold 
all  the  aforesaid  liberties,  rights,  and  concessions,  truly  and 
peaceably,  freely  and  quietly,  fully  and  wholly  to  themselves 
and  their  lieirs,  of  us  and  our  heirs,  in  all  things  and  places,  for- 
ever, as  is  aforesaid.  It  is  also  sworn,  as  well  on  our  part  as  on 
the  part  of  the  barons,  that  all  the  things  aforesaid  shall  be 
observed  in  good  faith,  and  without  evil  subtilty.  Given  under 
our  hand,  in  the  presence  of  the  witnesses  above  named,  and 
many  others,  in  the  meadow  called  Runingmede,  between 
Windsor  and  Staines,  the  15th  day  of  June,  in  the  17th  year 
of  our  reiirn. 


The  translation  here  given  is  that  published  in  Sheldon  Ames's 
work  on  The  Enrjllsh  Constitution.  The  translation  given  by  Sir  E. 
Creasy  was  chiefly  followed  in  this,  but  it  was  collated  with  another 
accurate  translation  by  Mr.  Richard  Thompson,  accompanying  his 
Historical  Essay  on  Ufar/na  Charla,  pnblislied  in  1829,  anil  also  with 
the  Latin  text.  "The  explanation  of  the  whole  Charter,"  observes 
INIr.  Amos,  "  must  be  sought  chiefly  in  detailed  accounts  of  the  Feiidiil 
system  in  England,  as  explained  in  such  works  as  those  of  Stubbs, 
Hallani,  and  Blackstone.  The  scattered  notes  here  introduced  have 
only  for  their  purpose  to  elucidate  the  most  unusual  and  perplexing 
expressions.  The  Cliarter  printed  in  the  Statute  Hook  is  that  issued 
in  the  idnth  year  of  Henry  III.,  whicli  is  also  the  one  sp'  cially  con- 
flrincd  by  the  Charter  of  Edward  I.  The  Charter  of  Henry  III.  dif- 
fers in  some  (generally)  insignifieant  points  from  that  of  J(dni.  The 
most  important  difference  is  tlic  omission  in  the  later  Charter  of  the 
14th  and  lolii  Articles  of  John's  Charter,  by  whieh  the  King  is  re- 
stricted from  levying  aids  beyond  the  three  ordinary  ones,  without  the 


MAGNA    CHARTA.  321 

assent  of  the  '  Common  Council  of  the  Kingdom,'  and  provision  is 
made  for  summoning  it.  This  passage  is  restored  by  Edward  I. 
Magna  Charter  has  been  solemnly  confirmed  upwards  of  thirty  times." 
See  the  chapter  on  the  Great  Charter,  in  Green's  History  of  the  Eng- 
lish People.  See  also  Stubbs's  Documents  Illustrative  of  English  His- 
tory. "  The  whole  of  the  constitutional  history  of  England,"  says 
Stubbs,  "  is  a  commentary  on  this  Charter,  the  illustration  of  which 
must  be  looived  for  in  the  documents  that  precede  and  follow." 


"CONFIRMATIO  CHARTARUM"  OF  EDWARD  I. 
1297. 

I.  Edward,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  England,  Lord  of 
Ireland,  and  Duke  Guyan,  to  all  those  that  these  present  letters 
shall  hear  or  see,  greeting.  Know  ye  that  we,  to  the  honour  of 
God  and  of  holy  Church,  and  to  the  profit  of  our  realm,  have 
granted  for  us  and  our  heirs,  that  the  Charter  of  Liberties  and 
the  Charter  of  the  Forest,  -which  were  made  by  common  assent 
of  all  the  realm  in  the  time  of  King  Henry  our  father,  shall  be 
kept  in  every  point  without  breach.  And  we  will  that  the  same 
Charters  shall  be  sent  under  our  seal  as  well  to  our  justices  of 
the  forest  as  to  others,  and  to  all  sheriffs  of  shires,  and  to  all  our 
other  officers,  and  to  all  our  cities  througliout  the  realm,  together 
with  our  writs  in  the  which  it  shall  be  contained  that  they  cause 
the  foresaid  Charters  to  be  pul)lished,  and  to  declare  to  the 
people  that  we  have  confirmed  them  in  all  points  ;  and  that  our 
justices,  sheriffs,  mayors,  and  other  ministers,  Avhich  under  us 
have  the  laws  of  our  land  to  guide,  shall  allow  the  said  Charters 
pleaded  before  them  in  judgment  in  all  their  points;  that  is  to 
■wit,  the  Great  Charter  as  the  common  law,  and  the  Charter  of 
the  Forest  according  to  the  assize  of  the  Forest,  for  the  wealth 
of  our  realm. 

IL  And  we  will  that  if  any  judgment  be  given  from  hence- 
forth, contrary  to  the  points  of  the  Charters  aforesaid,  by  the 
justices  or  by  any  other  our  ministers  that  hold  plea  before  them 
against  the  points  of  the  Charters,  it  shall  be  undone  and  holden 
for  naught. 

III.  And  we  will  that  the  same  Charters  shall  be  sent  under 
our  seal  to  cathedral  churches  throughout  our  realm,  there  to 
remain,  and  shall  be  read  before  the  people  two  times  by  the 
year. 


322  APPENDIX  C. 

IV.  And  that  all  archbishops  and  bishops  shall  pronounce  the 
sentence  of  great  excommunication  against  all  those  that  by 
word,  deed,  or  counsel  do  contrary  to  the  foresaid  Charters,  or 
that  in  any  point  break  or  undo  them.  And  that  the  said  curses 
be  twice  a  year  denounced  and  published  by  the  prelates  afore- 
said. And  if  the  prelates  or  any  of  them  be  remiss  in  the  de- 
nunciation of  the  said  sentences,  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury 
and  York  for  the  time  being,  as  is  fitting,  shall  compel  and  dis- 
train them  to  make  that  denunciation  in  form  afoi'esaid. 

V.  And  for  so  much  as  divers  people  of  our  realm  are  in  fear 
that  the  aids  and  tasks  which  they  have  given  to  us  beforetime 
towards  our  wars  and  other  business,  of  their  own  grant  and 
goodwill,  howsoever  they  were  made,  might  turn  to  a  bondage 
to  them  and  their  heirs,  because  they  might  be  at  another  time 
found  in  the  rolls,  and  so  likewise  the  prises  taken  throughout 
the  realm  by  our  ministers ;  we  have  granted  for  us  and  our 
heirs,  that  we  shall  not  draw  such  aids,  tasks,  nor  prises  into  a 
custom,  for  anything  that  hath  been  done  heretofore,  or  that  may 
be  found  by  roll  or  in  any  other  manner. 

VI.  Moreover  we  have  granted  for  us  and  our  heirs,  as  well 
to  archbishops,  bishops,  abbots,  priors,  and  other  folk  of  holy 
Church,  as  also  to  earls,  barons,  and  to  all  the  commonalty  of 
the  land,  that  for  no  business  from  henceforth  will  we  take  such 
manner  6f  aids,  tasks,  nor  prises  but  by  the  common  consent  of 
the  realm,  and  for  the  common  profit  thereof,  saving  the  ancient 
aids  and  prises  due  and  accustomed. 

VII.  And  for  so  much  as  the  more  part  of  the  commonalty  of 
the  realm  find  themselves  sore  grieved  with  the  matelote  of  wools, 
that  is  to  wit,  a  toll  of  forty  shillings  for  every  sack  of  wool,  and 
have  made  petition  to  us  to  release  the  same ;  we,  at  their  re- 
quests, have  clearly  released  it,  and  have  granted  for  us  and  our 
heirs  that  we  shall  not  take  such  thing  nor  any  other  without 
their  common  assent  and  goodwill ;  saving  to  us  and  our  heirs 
the  custom  of  wools,  skins,  and  leather,  granted  before  by  the 
commonalty  aforesaid.  In  witness  of  which  things  we  have 
caused  these  our  letters  to  be  made  patents.  Witness  Edward 
our  son,  at  London,  the  10th  day  of  October,  the  five-and- 
twentieth  of  our  reign. 

And  be  it  remembered  that  this  same  Charter,  in  the  same 
terms,  word  for  word,  was  sealed  in  Flanders  under  the  King's 
Great  Seal,  that  is  to  say,  at  Ghent,  the  5th  day  of  November, 


MAGNA    CHART  A.  823 

in  the  52th  year  of  the  reign  of  our  aforesaid  Lord  the  King, 
and  sent  into  Enghmd. 

The  words  of  this  important  document,  from  Professor  Stnbbs's 
translation,  are  given  as  the  best  exphination  of  the  constitutional 
position  and  importance  of  the  Charters  of  John  and  Henry  III.  See 
historical  notice  in  Stnbbs's  Documents  Illustratice  of  English  History, 
p.  477.  This  is  far  the  most  important  of  the  numerous  ratitications 
of  the  Great  Charter.  Halhim  calls  it  "  that  famous  statute,  inade- 
quately denominated  the  Confirmation  of  the  Charters,  because  it  added 
another  pillar  to  our  constitution,  not  less  important  than  the  Great 
Charter  itself."  It  solemnly  confirmed  the  two  Charters,  the  Charter 
of  the  Forest  (issued  by  Henry  II.  in  1217  —  see  text  in  Stubbs, 
p.  338)  being  then  considered  as  of  equal  importance  with  Magna 
Charta  itself,  establishing  them  in  all  points  as  the  law  of  the  land; 
but.it  did  more.  "  Hitherto  the  king's  prerogative  of  levying  money 
by  name  of  tallage  or  prise,  from  his  towns  and  tenants  in  demesne, 
had  passed  unquestioned.  Some  impositions,  that  especially  on  the. 
export  of  wool,  affected  all  the  king's  subjects.  It  was  now  the  mo- 
ment to  enfranchise  the  people  and  give  that  security  to  private  prop- 
erty which  Magna  Charta  had  given  to  personal  liberty."  Edward's 
statute  binds  the  king  never  to  take  any  of  these  "  aid.s,  tasks,  and 
prises  "  in  future,  save  by  the  common  assent  of  the  realm.  Hence, 
as  Bowen  remarks,  the  Confirmation  of  the  Charters,  or  an  abstract 
of  it  under  the  form  of  a  supposed  statute  de  tallagio  rion  conce.dendo 
(see  Stubbs,  p.  487),  was  more  frequently  cited  than  any  other  enact- 
ment by  the  parliamentary  leaders  who  resisted  the  encroachments  of 
Charles  I.  The  original  of  t'.ie  Confirmatio  Chartarum,  which  is  in 
Norman  French,  is  still  in  existence,  though  considerably  shriveled 
by  the  fire  which  damaged  so  many  of  the  Cottonian  manuscripts  in 
1731. 

THE  GRANT  OF  THE  GREAT  CHARTER. 

"An  island  in  the  Thames  between  Staines  and  Windsor  had  been 
chosen  as  the  place  of  conference :  the  King  encamped  on  one  bank, 
while  the  barons  covered  the  marshy  flat,  still  known  by  the  name  of 
Runnymede,  on  the  other.  Their  delegates  met  in  the  island  be- 
tween them,  but  the  negotiations  wore  a  mere  cloak  to  cover  John's 
purpose  of  unconditional  submission.  The  Great  Charter  was  dis- 
cussed, agreed  to,  and  signed  in  a  single  day.  One  copy  of  it  still  re- 
mains in  the  British  Museum,  injured  by  age  and  fire,  but  with  the 
royal  seal  still  hanging  from  the  brown,  shrivelled  parchment.  It  is 
impossible  to  gaze  without  reverence  on  the  earliest  monument  of 
English  freedom  which  we  can  see  with  our  own  eyes  and  touch  with 
our  own  hands,  the  great  Charter  to  which  from  age  to  age  patriots 


824  APPENDIX  C. 

have  looked  back  as  the  basis  of  English  liberty.  But  in  itself  the 
Charter  was  no  novelty,  nor  did  it  claim  to  establish  any  new  consti- 
tutional principles.  The  Charter  of  Henry  the  First  formed  the  basis 
of  the  whole,  and  the  additions  to  it  are  for  the  most  part  formal  rec- 
ognitions of  the  judicial  and  administrative  changes  introduced  by 
Henry  the  Second.  But  the  vague  expressions  of  the  older  charters 
were  now  exchanged  for  precise  and  elaborate  ])rovisions.  The  bonds 
of  unwritten  cust(jm  which  the  older  grants  ditl  little  more  than  rec- 
ognize had  proved  too  weak  to  hold  the  Angevins;  and  the  baronage 
now  threw  them  aside  for  the  restraints  of  written  law.  It  is  in  this 
way  that  the  Great  Charter  marks  the  transition  from  the  age  of 
traditional  rights,  preserved  in  the  nation's  memory  and  officially  de- 
clared by  the  Primate,  to  the  age  of  written  legislation,  of  Parlia- 
ments and  Statutes,  which  was  soon  to  come.  The  Church  had  shown 
its  power  of  self-defence  in  the  struggle  over  the  interdict,  and  the 
clause  which  recognized  its  rights  alone  retained  the  older  and  gen- 
eral form.  But  all  vagueness  ceases  when  the  Charter  passes  on  to 
deal  with  the  rights  of  Englishmen  at  large,  their  right  to  justice,  to 
security  of  person  and  property,  to  good  government.  'No  free- 
man,' ran  the  memorable  article  that  lies  at  the  base  of  our  whole 
judicial  system,  'shall  be  seized  or  imprisoned,  or  dispossessed,  or 
outlawed,  or  in  any  way  brought  to  ruin ;  we  will  not  go  agninst  any 
man  nor  send  ngainst  him,  save  by  legal  judgment  of  his  peers  or  by 
the  law  of  the  land.'  'To  no  man  will  we  sell,'  runs  another,  'or 
deny,  or  delay,  right  or  justice.'  The  great  reforms  of  the  past  reigns 
were  now  formally  recognized;  judges  of  assize  were  to  hold  th^ir 
circuits  four  times  in  the  year,  and  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  was 
no  longer  to  follow  the  King  in  his  wanderings  over  the  realm,  but  to 
sit  in  a  fixed  place.  But  the  denial  of  justice  under  John  was  a  small 
danger  compared  witii  the  lawless  exactions  both  of  himself  and  his 
predecessor.  Ric-hard  had  increased  the  amount  of  the  scutage  which 
Henry  11.  had  introduced,  and  applied  it  to  raise  funds  for  his  ran- 
som. He  had  restored  the  Danegeld,  or  land  tax,  so  often  abolished, 
under  the  new  name  of 'carucage,'  had  seized  the  wool  of  the  Cis- 
tercians and  the  plate  of  the  churches,  and  rated  movables  as  well  aa 
land.  John  had  again  raised  the  rate  of  scutage,  and  imposed  aids, 
fines,  and  ransoms  at  his  ]deasure  without  counsel  of  the  baronage. 
The  Great  Charter  met  this  abuse  by  the  provision  on  which  our  con- 
stitutional system  rests.  With  the  exception  of  the  three  customary 
feudal  aids  which  still  remained  to  the  crown,  'no  scutage  or  aid 
shall  be  imposed  in  our  realm  save  by  the  Common  Council  of  the 
realm;'  and  to  this  Great  Council  it  was  provided  that  prelates  and 
the  greater  barons  should  be  summoned  by  siiocial  writ,  and  all  ten- 
ants in  chief  through  the  sheriffs  and  bailiffs,  at  least  forty  days 
before.  But  it  was  less  easy  to  jjrovide  means  for  the  control  of  a 
King  whom  uo  man  could  trust,  and  a  council  of  twenty-four  barons 


A   PART   OF  THE  BILL   OF  RIGHTS.  325 

was  chosen  from  the  jreneral  body  of  their  order  to  enforce  on  John 
the  observance  of  the  Charter,  with  the  right  of  declaring  war  on  the 
King  should  its  provisions  be  infringed.  Finally,  the  Charter  was 
published  throughout  the  whole  country,  and  sworn  to  at  every  hun- 
dred-mote and  town-mote  by  order  from  the  King." — Green's  Short 
History  of  the  English  People,  p.  12.3. 


APPENDIX    D. 

A  PAET  OF  THE  BILL  OF  RIGHTS. 

An  Act  for  Declaring  the  Rights  and  Liberties  of  the 
Subject,  and  Settling  the  Sdccession  of  the  Crown. 
1689. 

Whereas  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons, 
assembled  at  Westminster,  lawfully,  fully,  and  freely  represent- 
ing all  the  estates  of  the  people  of  this  realm,  did  upon  the 
thirteenth  day  of  February,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thou- 
sand six  hundred  eighty-eight  [o.  s.],^  present  unto  their  Majes- 
ties, then  called  and  known  by  the  names  and  style  of  William 
and  Mary,  Prince  and  Princess  of  Orange,  being  present  in 
their  proper  persons,  a  certain  Declaration  in  writing,  made  by 
the  said  Lords  and  Commons,  in  the  words  following,  viz.: 

Whereas  the  late  King  James  IL,  by  the  assistance  of  divers 
evil  counsellors,  judges,  and  ministers  employed  by  him,  did 
endeavour  to  subvert  and  extirpate  the  Protestant  religion,  and 
the  laws  and  liberties  of  this  kingdom: 

1.  By  assuming  and  exercising  a  power  of  dispensing  with  and 
suspending  of  laws,  and  the  execution  of  laws,  without  consent 
of  Parliament. 

2.  By  committing  and  prosecuting  divers  worthy  j)relates  for 
humbly  petitioning  to  be  excused  from  concurring  to  the  said 
assumed  power. 

3.  By  issuing  and  causing  to  be  executed  a  commis>ion  under 
the  Great  Seal  for  erecting  a  court,  called  the  Court  of  Commis- 
sioners for  Ecclesiastical  Causes. 

4.  By  levying  money  for  and  to  the  use  of  the  Crown  by  pre- 
tence of  prerogative,  for  other  time  and  in  other  manner  than 
the  same  was  granted  by  Parliament. 

1  Li  New  Style  Feb.  23,  16S9. 


326  APPENDIX  D. 

5.  By  raising  and  keeping  a  standing  army  within  this  king- 
dom in  time  of  peace,  without  consent  of  Parliament,  and  quar- 
tering soldiers  contrary  to  law. 

6.  By  causinii;  several  good  subjects,  being  Protestants,  to  be 
disarmed,  at  the  same  time  when  Papists  were  both  armed  and 
employed  contrary  to  law. 

7.  Bv  violatino-  the  freedom  of  election  of  members  to  serve 
in  Parliament. 

8.  By  prosecutions  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  for  matters 
and  causes  cognizable  only  in  Parliament,  and  by  divers  other 
arbitrary  and  illegal  causes. 

9.  And  whereas  of  late  years,  partial,  corrupt,  and  unqualified 
persons  have  been  returned,  and  served  on  juries  in  trials,  and 
particularly  divers  jurors  in  trials  for  high  treason,  which  were 
not  freeholders. 

10.  And  excessive  bail  hath  been  required  of  persons  commit- 
ted in  criminal  cases,  to  elude  the  benefit  of  the  laws  made  for 
the  liberty  of  the  subjects. 

11.  And  excessive  fines  have  been  imposed;  and  illegal  and 
cruel  punishments  inflicted. 

12.  And  several  grants  and  promises  made  of  fines  and  for- 
feitures before  any  conviction  or  judgment  against  the  persons 
upon  whom  the  same  were  to  be  levied. 

All  which  are  utterly  and  directly  contrary  to  the  known  laws 
and  statutes,  and  freedom  of  this  realm. 

And  whereas  the  said  late  King  James  II.  having  abdicated 
the  government,  and  the  throne  being  thereby  vacant,  his  High- 
ness the  Prince  of  Orange  (whom  it  hath  pleased  Almighty  God 
to  make  the  glorious  instrument  of  delivering  this  kingdom  from 
popery  and  arbitrary  power)  did  (by  the  advice  of  the  Lords 
Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  divers  principal  persons  of  the 
Commons)  cause  letters  to  be  written  to  the  Lords  Spiritual 
and  Temporal,  being  Protestants,  and  other  letters  to  the  sev- 
eral counties,  cities,  universities,  boroughs,  and  cinque  ports, 
for  the  choosing  of  such  persons  to  represent  them  as  were  of 
right  to  be  sent  to  Parliament,  to  meet  and  sit  at  Westminster 
upon  the  two-and-twentieth  day  of  January,  in  this  year  one 
thousand  six  hundred  eighty  and  eight, ^  in  order  to  such  an 
establishment,  as  that  tlieir  religion,  laws,  and  liberties  might 
not  again  be  in  danger  of  being  subverted;  upon  which  letters 
elections  liave  been  accordingly  made. 

And  thereupon  the  said  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and 

1   In  New  Style  Tl-I).  I,  lOS'J. 


A  PART   OF  THE  BILL   OF  RIGHTS.         327 

Commons,  pursuant  to  their  respective  letters  and  elections, 
being  now  assembled  in  a  full  and  free  representation  of  this 
nation,  taking  into  their  most  sei-ious  consideration  the  best 
means  for  attaining  the  ends  aforesaid,  do  in  the  first  place  (as 
their  ancestors  in  like  case  have  usually  done)  for  the  vindicating 
and  asserting  their  ancient  rights  and  liberties,  declare: 

1.  That  the  pretended  power  of  suspending  of  laws,  or  the 
execution  of  laws  by  regal  authority,  without  consent  of  Parlia- 
ment, is  illegal. 

2.  That  the  pretended  power  of  dispensing  with  laws,  or  the 
execution  of  laws  by  regal  authority,  as  it  hath  been  assumed 
and  exenised  of  late,  is  illegal. 

3.  That  the  commission  for  erecting  the  late  Court  of  Com- 
missioners for  Ecclesiastical  Causes,  and  all  other  commissions 
and  courts  of  like  nature,  are  illegal  and  pernicious. 

4.  That  levying  money  for  or  to  Uie  xise  of  the  Crown  by  pre- 
tence and  prerogative^  without  grant  of  Parliament^  for  longer  time 
or  in  other  manner  than  the  same  is  or  shall  be  granted,  is  illegal.^ 

5.  lliat  it  is  the  right  of  the  subjects  to  petition  the  King,  and  all 
commitments  and  prosecutions  for  such  petitioning  are  illegal.'^ 

6.  lliat  the  7-aising  or  keeping  a  standing  army  within  the  king- 
dom in  time  of  peace,  unless  it  be  with  consent  of  Parliament,  is 
against  law.^ 

7.  That  the  subjects  which  are  Protestants  may  hace  arms  for 
their  defence  suitable  to  their  conditions,  and  as  allowed  by  law* 

8.  That  election  of  members  of  Pailiament  ought  to  be  free. 

9.  That  the  freedom  of  speech,  and  dehaies  or  proceedings  in 
Parliament,  ought  not  to  be  impeached  or  questioned  in  any  court 
or  place  out  of  Parliament.^ 

10.  That  excessive  bail  ought  not  to  be  required,  nor  excessive 
fines  imposed  ;  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punislwients  inflicted.^ 

11.  That  jurors  ought  to  be  duly  impanelled  and  returned,  and 
jurors  which  jmss  upon  men  in  trials  for  high  treason  ought  to  be 
freeholders.'' 

1  Compare  this  clause  4  with  clauses  12  and  14  of  Magna  Charta, 
and  with  Art.  I.  §  vii.  clause  1  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

2  Compare  clause  5  with  Amendment  I. 

8  Compare  clause  6  with  Amendment  III. 

*  Compare  clause  7  with  Amendment  11. 

s  Compare  clause  9  with  Constitution,  Art.  I.  §  vi.  clause  1. 

•5  Compare  clause  10  with  Amendment  VIII. 

7  Com].nr,>  rlaiisc  II  witli  Amcudments  ^'I.  and  VII. 


328  APPENDIX  D. 

12.  That  all  grants  and  promises  of  fines  and  forfeitures  of 
particular  persons  before  conviction  are  illegal  and  void. 

13.  And  that  for  redress  of  all  grievances,  and  for  the  amend- 
ing, strengthening,  and  preserving  of  the  laws,  Parliament 
ought  to  be  held  frequently. 

And  they  do  claim,  demand,  and  insist  upon  all  and  singular 
the  premises,  as  their  undoubted  rights  and  liberties;  and  that 
no  declarations,  judgments,  doings  or  proceedings,  to  the  preju- 
dice of  the  people  in  any  of  the  said  premises,  ought  in  any 
■wise  to  be  drawn  hereafter  into  consequence  or  example. 

To  which  demand  of  their  rights  they  are  particularly  encour- 
aged by  the  declaration  of  his  Highness  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
as  being  the  only  means  for  obtaining  a  full  redress  and  remedy 
therein. 

Having  therefore  an  entire  confidence  that  his  said  Highness 
the  Prince  of  Orange  will  perfect  the  deliverance  so  far  ad- 
vanced by  him,  and  will  still  preserve  them  from  the  violation 
of  their  rights,  which  they  have  here  asserted,  and  from  all 
other  attempts  upon  their  religion,  rights,  and  liberties  : 

n.  The  said  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons, 
assembled  at  Westminster,  do  resolve,  that  William  and  Mary, 
Prince  and  Princess  of  Orange,  be,  and  be  declared,  King  and 
Queen  of  England,  France,  and  Ireland,  and  the  dominions 
thereunto  belonging,  to  hold  the  crown  and  royal  dignity  of  (he 
said  kingdoms  and  dominions  to  them  the  said  Prince  and 
Princess  during  their  lives,  and  the  life  of  the  survivor  of  them; 
and  that  the  sole  and  full  exercise  of  the  regal  power  be  only 
in,  and  executed  by,  the  said  Prince  of  Orange,  in  the  names 
of  the  said  Prince  and  Princess,  during  their  joint  lives;  and 
after  their  deceases,  the  said  crown  and  royal  dignity  of  the 
said  kingdoms  and  dominions  to  be  to  the  heirs  of  the  body  of 
the  said  Princess;  and  for  default  of  such  issue  to  the  Princess 
Anne  of  Denmark,  and  the  heirs  of  her  body  ;  and  for  default 
of  such  issue  to  the  heirs  of  the  body  of  the  said  Prince  of 
Orange.  And  the  Lords  S[)iritual  and  Temporal,  and  Com- 
mons, do  pray  the  said  Prince  and  Princess  to  accept  the  same 
accordingly. 

The  act  goes  on  to  declare  that,  their  Majesties  having  ac- 
cepted the  crown  upon  these  terms,  the  "  rights  and  liberties  as- 
serted and  claimed  in  the  said  declaration  are  the  true,  ancient, 
and  indubitable  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people  of  this  king- 
dom, and  so  shall  be  esteemed,  allowed,  adjudged,  deemed,  and 


FUNDAMENTAL  ORDERS  OF  CONNECTICUT.   329 

taken  to  be,  and  that  all  and  every  the  j)articulars  aforesaid 
shall  be  firmly  and  strictly  holden  and  observed,  as  they  ai-e  ex- 
pressed in  the  said  declaration;  and  all  officers  and  ministers 
whatsoever  shall  serve  their  Majesties  and  their  successors  ac- 
cording to  the  same  in  all  times  to  come." 

The  act  then  declares  that  William  and  Mary  "  are  and  of 
right  ought  to  be  King  and  Queen  of  England,  etc. ;  and  it  goes 
on  to  regulate  the  succession  after  their  deaths. 

"The  passing  of  the  Bill  of  Rights  in  1689  restored  to  the 
monarchy  the  character  which  it  had  lost  under  the  Tudors  and 
the  Stuarts.  The  right  of  the  people  through  its  representa- 
tives to  depose  the  King,  to  change  the  order  of  succession,  and 
to  set  on  the  throne  whom  they  would,  was  now  established. 
All  claim  of  divine  right,  or  hereditary  right  independent  of  the 
law,  was  formally  put  an  end  to  by  the  election  of  William  and 
Mary.  Since  their  day  no  English  sovereign  has  been  able  to 
advance  any  claim  to  the  crown  save  a  claim  which  rested  on  a 
particular  clause  in  a  particular  Act  of  Parliament.  William, 
Mary,  and  Anne  were  sovereigns  simply  by  virtue  of  the  Bill  of 
Rights.  George  the  First  and  his  successors  have  been  sover- 
eigns solely  by  virtue  of  the  Act  of  Settlement.  An  English 
monarch  is  now  as  much  the  creature  of  an  Act  of  Parliament 
as  the  pettiest  tax-gatherer  in  his  realm."  —  Green's  Short  His- 
tory, p.  673. 


APPENDIX   E. 

THE  FUNDAMENTAL  ORDERS  OF  CONNECTICUT. 

1638(9). 

Thejirst  written  constitution  that  created  a  government. 

Forasmuch  as  it  hath  pleased  the  AUmighty  God  by  the 
wise  disposition  of  his  diuyne  jTuidence  so  to  Order  and  dispose 
of  things  that  we  the  Iidiabitants  and  Residents  of  Windsor, 
Harteford  and  Wethersfield  are  now  cohabiting  and  dwelling  in 
and  vppon  the  River  of  Conectecotte  and  the  Lands  thereunto 
adioyneing  ;  And  well  knowing  where  a  peojile  are  gathered  to- 
gather  the  word  of  God  recjuires  tliat  to  niayntayne  the  peace 
and  vnion  of  such  a  people  there  should  be  an  orderly  and  de- 


330  APPENDIX  E. 

cent  Gouerment  established  according  to  God,  to  order  and 
dispose  of  the  affayres  of  the  people  at  all  seasons  as  occation 
shall  require  ;  doe  therefore  assotiate  and  conioyne  our  selues 
to  be  as  one  Publike  State  or  Comonwelth  ;  and  doe,  for  our 
selues  and  our  Successors  and  such  as  shall  be  adioyned  to  vs 
att  any  tynie  hereafter,  enter  into  Combination  and  Confedera- 
tion togather,  to  niayntayne  and  p'searue  the  liberty  and  purity 
of  the  gospell  of  our  Lord  Jesus  w"*"  we  now  p'fesse,  as  also  the 
disciplyne  of  the  Churches,  w"''  according  to  the  truth  of  the 
said  gospell  is  now  practised  amongst  vs  ;  As  also  in  o'  Ciuell 
Affaires  to  be  guided  and  gouerned  according  to  such  Lawes, 
llules,  Orders  and  decrees  as  shall  be  made,  ordered  &  decreed, 
as  followeth  :  — 

1.  It  is  Ordered,  sentenced  and  decreed,  that  there  shall  be 
yerely  two  generall  Assemblies  or  Courts,  the  one  the  second 
thursday  in  Aprill,  the  other  the  second  thursday  in  September, 
following  ;  the  first  shall  be  called  the  Courte  of  Election, 
wherein  shall  be  yerely  Chosen  fro  tyme  to  tyme  soe  many^ 
Magestrats  and  other  publike  Officers  as  shall  be  found  requi- 
sitte :  Whereof  one  to  be  chosen  Gouernour  for  the  yeare  ensue- 
ing  and  vntill  another  be  chosen,  and  noe  other  Magestrate  to 
be  chosen  for  more  than  one  yeare  ;  p'uided  allwayes  there 
be  sixe  chosen  besids  the  Gouernour ;  w"""  being  chosen  and 
sworne  according  to  an  Oath  recorded  for  that  purpose  shall 
liaue  power  to  administer  instice  according  to  the  Lawes  here 
established,  and  for  want  thereof  according  to  the  rule  of  the 
word  of  God  ;  w"""  choise  shall  be  made  by  all  that  are  admitted 
freemen  and  haue  taken  the  Oath  of  Fidellity,  and  doe  cohabitte 
w'Mn  this  Jurisdiction,  (hauing  beene  admitted  Inhabitants  by 
the  maior  p't  of  the  Towne  wherein  they  Hue,)  or  the  mayor  p'te 
of  such  as  shall  be  then  p'sent. 

2.  It  is  Ordered,  sentensed  and  decreed,  that  the  Election  of 
the  aforesaid  Magestrats  shall  be  on  this  manner  :  euery  p'son 
p'sent  and  qualUtied  for  choyse  shall  bring  in  (to  the  p''?ons  de- 
})uted  to  receaue  the)  one  single  paj)'  w""  the  name  of  him  writ- 
ten in  yt  whom  he  desires  to  haue  Gouernour,  and  he  that  hath 
the  greatest  nuber  of  papers  shall  be  Gouernor  for  that  yeare. 
And  the  rest  of  the  Magestrats  or  publike  Officers  to  be  chosen 
in  this  manner :  The  Secretary  for  the  tyme  being  shall  first 
read  the  names  of  all  that  are  to  be  put  to  choise  and  then  shall 
seuerally  nominate  them  distinctly,  and  euery  one  that  would 
haue  the  p'son  nominated  to  be  chosen  shall  bring  in  one  single 


FUNDAMENTAL  ORDERS  OF  CONNECTICUT.   331 

paper  written  vppon,  and  he  that  would  not  haue  him  chosen 
shall  bring  in  a  blanke  :  and  euery  one  that  hath  more  written 
papers  then  blanks  shall  be  a  Magistral  for  that  yeare;  w"''  pa- 
pers shall  be  receaued  and  told  by  one  or  more  that  shall  be  then 
chosen  by  the  court  and  sworne  to  be  faythfuU  therein  ;  but  in 
case  there  should  not  be  sixe  chosen  as  aforesaid,  besids  the 
Gouernor,  out  of  those  w"*"  are  nominated,  then  he  or  they  w"*" 
haue  the  most  written  pap's  shall  be  a  Magestrate  or  Magestrats 
for  the  ensueing  yeare,  to  make  vp  the  foresaid  nuber. 

3.  It  is  Ordered,  sentenced  and  decreed,  that  the  Secretary 
shall  not  nominate  any  p'son,  nor  shall  any  p'son  be  chosen 
newly  into  the  Magestracy  w"""  was  not  p'pownded  in  some  Gen- 
erall  Courte  before,  to  be  nominated  the  next  Election ;  and  to 
that  end  yt  shall  be  lawful!  for  ech  of  the  Townes  aforesaid  by 
their  deputyes  to  nominate  any  two  who  they  conceaue  fitte  to 
be  put  to  election  ;  and  the  Courte  may  ad  so  many  more  as 
they  iudge  requisitt. 

4.  It  is  Ordered,  sentenced  and  decreed  that  noe  p'son  be 
chosen  Gouernor  aboue  once  in  two  yeares,  and  that  the  Gou- 
ernor be  always  a  meber  of  some  ap[)roved  congregation,  and 
formerly  of  the  Magestracy  w"'in  this  Jurisdiction  ;  and  all  the 
i\lagestrats  Freemen  of  this  Comonwelth  :  and  that  no  Mages- 
trate or  other  publike  officer  shall  execute  any  p'te  of  his  or 
their  Office  before  they  are  seuerally  sworne,  w"""  shall  be  done 
in  the  face  of  the  Courte  if  they  be  p'sent,  and  in  case  of  ab- 
sence by  some  deputed  for  that  purpose. 

5.  It  is  Ordered,  sentenced  and  decreed,  that  to  the  afore- 
said Courte  of  Election  the  seu'all  Townes  shall  send  their 
deputj-es,  and  when  the  Elections  are  ended  they  may  p'ceed 
in  any  publike  searuice  as  at  other  Courts.  Also  the  other 
Generall  Courte  in  September  shall  be  for  makeing  of  lawes, 
and  any  other  publike  occation,  w'^''  conserns  the  good  of  the 
Comonwelth. 

6.  It  is  Ordered,  sentenced  and  decreed,  that  the  Gou'nor 
shall,  ether  by  himselfe  or  by  the  secretary,  send  out  sumons  to 
the  Constables  of  eu'  Towne  for  the  cauleing  of  these  two 
standing  Courts,  on  month  at  lest  before  their  seu'all  tymes  : 
And  also  if  the  Gou^nor  and  the  gretest  p'te  of  the  Magestrats 
see  cause  vppon  any  spetiall  occation  to  call  a  generall  Courte, 
they  may  giue  order  to  the  secretary  soe  to  doe  w'Mn  fowerteene 
dayes  warneing  ;  and  if  vrgent  necessity  so  require,  vppon  a 
shorter  notice,  glueing  sufficient  grownds  for  yt  to  the  deputyes 


332  APPENDIX  E. 

when  they  meete,  or  els  be  questioned  for  the  same  ;  And  if  the 
Gou'nor  and  Mayor  p'^te  of  Magestrats  shall  ether  neglect  or 
refuse  to  call  the  two  Generall  standing  Courts  or  ether  of  the, 
as  also  at  other  tymes  when  the  occations  of  the  Comonwelth 
require,  the  Freemen  thereof,  or  the  Mayor  p'te  of  them,  shall 
petition  to  them  soe  to  doe  :  if  then  yt  be  ether  denyed  or  neg- 
lected the  said  Freemen  or  the  Maj  or  p'te  of  them  shall  liaue 
power  to  giue  order  to  the  Constables  of  the  seuerall  Townes  to 
doe  the  same,  and  so  may  meete  togather,  and  chuse  to  tliem- 
selues  a  Moderator,  and  may  p'ceed  to  do  any  Acte  of  power, 
w"*"  any  other  Generall  Courte  may. 

7.  It  is  Ordered,  sentenced  and  decreed  that  after  there  are 
warrants  giuen  out  for  any  of  the  said  Generall  Courts,  the  Con- 
stable or  Constables  of  ech  Towne  shall  forthvv"*  give  notice  dis- 
tinctly to  the  inhabitants  of  the  same,  in  some  Publike  Assembly 
or  by  goeing  or  sending  fro  howse  to  howse,  that  at  a  place  and 
tyme  by  him  or  them  lymited  and  sett,  they  meet  and  assem- 
ble the  selues  togather  to  elect  and  chuse  certen  deputyes  to 
be  att  the  Generall  Courte  then  following  to  agitate  the  afayres 
of  the  comonwelth  ;  w"*"  said  Deputyes  shall  be  chosen  by  all 
that  are  admitted  Inhabitants  in  the  seu'all  Townes  and  haue 
taken  the  oath  of  fidellity;  p'uided  that  non  be  chosen  a  Deputy 
for  any  Generall  Courte  w*  is  not  a  Freeman  of  this  Comon- 
welth. 

The  foresaid  deputyes  shall  be  chosen  in  manner  following  : 
euery  p'son  that  is  p''sent  and  quallified  as  before  exp'ssed,  shall 
bring  the  names  of  such,  written  in  seu'rall  papers,  as  they  desire 
to  haue  chosen  for  that  Imployment.  and  these  3  or  4,  more  or 
lesse,  being  the  nilber  agreed  on  to  be  chosen  for  that  tyme,  that 
haue  greatest  nuber  of  papers  written  for  the  shall  be  deputyes 
for  that  Courte ;  whose  names  shall  be  endorsed  on  the  backe 
side  of  the  warrant  and  returned  into  the  Courte,  w""  the  Con- 
stable or  Constables  hand  vnto  the  same. 

8.  It  is  Ordered,  sentenced  and  decreed,  that  Wyndsor, 
Hartford  and  Wethersfield  shall  haue  power,  ech  Towne,  to 
send  fower  of  their  freemen  as  deputyes  to  euery  Generall 
Courte  ;  and  whatsoeuer  other  Townes  shall  be  hereafter  added 
to  this  Jurisdiction,  they  shall  send  so  many  deputyes  as  the 
Courte  shall  judge  meete,  a  resonable  j)'portinn  to  the  niiber  of 
Freemen  that  are  in  the  said  Townes  being  to  be  attended  there- 
in ;  w"''  deputyes  shall  have  the  power  of  the  whole  Towne  to 
giue  their  voats  and  alowance  to  all  such  lawes  and  orders  as  may 


FUNDAMENTAL  ORDERS  OF  CONNECTICUT.   333 

be  for  the  publike  good,  and  unto  w"""  the  said  Townes  are  to  be 
bownd. 

9.  It  is  ordered  and  decreed,  that  the  deputyes  thus  chosen 
shall  haue  power  and  liberty  to  appoynt  a  tyme  and  a  place  of 
meeting  togather  before  any  Geiierall  Courte  to  aduise  and  con- 
sult of  all  such  things  as  may  concerne  the  good  of  the  publike, 
as  also  to  examine  their  owne  Elections,  whether  according  to  the 
order,  and  if  they  or  the  gretest  p'te  of  them  find  any  election  to 
be  illegall  they  may  seclud  such  for  p'sent  fro  their  meeting,  and 
returne  the  same  and  their  resons  to  the  Courte;  and  if  yt  proue 
true,  the  Courte  may  fyne  the  p'ty  or  p'tyes  so  intruding  and  the 
Towne,  if  they  see  cause,  and  giue  out  a  warrant  to  goe  to  a 
newe  election  in  a  legall  way,  either  in  p'te  or  in  whole.  Also 
the  said  deputyes  shall  haue  power  to  fyne  any  that  shall  be  dis- 
orderly at  their  meetings,  or  for  not  coming  in  due  tyme  or  place 
according  to  appoyntraent  ;  and  they  may  returne  the  said  fynes 
into  the  Courte  if  yt  be  refused  to  be  paid,  and  the  tresurer  to 
take  notice  of  yt,  and  to  estreete  or  levy  the  same  as  he  doth 
other  fynes. 

10.  It  is  Ordered,  sentenced  and  decreed,  that  euery  Gen- 
erall  Courte,  except  such  as  through  neglecte  of  the  Gou'nor 
and  the  greatest  p'te  of  Magestrats  the  Freemen  themselves 
doe  call,  shall  consist  of  the  Gouernor,  or  some  one  chosen  to 
moderate  the  Court,  and  4  other  jNIagestrats  at  lest,  w""  the 
mayor  p'te  of  the  deputyes  of  the  seuerall  Townes  legally  chosen; 
and  in  case  the  Freemen  or  mayor  p'te  of  the,  through  neglect 
or  refusall  of  the  Gouernor  and  mayor  p'te  of  the  magestrats, 
shall  call  a  Courte,  y'  shall  consist  of  the  mayor  p'te  of  Free- 
men that  are  p'sent  or  their  deputyes,  w"'  a  Moderator  chosen 
by  the  :  In  w"*"  said  Generall  Courts  shall  consist  the  supreme 
power  of  the  Comonwelth,  and  they  only  shall  haue  power  to 
make  laws  or  repeale  the,  to  graunt  leuyes,  to  admitt  of  Free- 
men, dispose  of  lands  vndisposed  of,  to  seuerall  Townes  or 
p'sons,  and  also  shall  liaue  power  to  call  ether  Courte  or  Mages- 
trate  or  any  other  p'son  whatsoeuer  into  question  for  any  misde- 
meanour, and  may  for  just  causes  displace  or  deale  otherwise 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  offence  ;  and  also  may  deale  in 
any  other  matter  that  concerns  the  good  of  this  comonwelth, 
excepte  election  of  Magestrats,  w"*"  shall  be  done  by  the  whole 
boddy  of  Freemen. 

In  w"""  Courte  the  Gouernour  or  Moderator  shall  haue  power  to 
order  the  Courte  to  giue  liberty  of  spech,  and  silence  vnceason- 


334  APPENDIX   E. 

able  and  disorderly  speakeings,  to  put  all  things  to  voate,  and  in 
case  the  vote  be  equall  to  haue  the  casting  voice.  But  non  of 
these  Courts  shall  be  adiorned  or  dissolued  w"'out  the  consent 
of  the  maior  p'te  of  the  Court. 

11.  It  is  ordered,  sentenced  and  decreed,  that  when  any 
Generall  Courte  vppon  the  occations  of  the  Coinonwehh  haue 
agreed  vppon  any  sume  or  somes  of  mony  to  be  leuyed  vppon 
the  souerall  Townes  w'^n  this  Jurisdiction,  that  a  Comittee  be 
chosen  to  sett  out  and  appoynt  w'  shall  be  the  p'portion  of  euery 
Towne  to  pay  of  the  said  leuy,  p'vided  the  Comittees  be  made 
vp  of  an  equall  niiber  out  of  each  Towne. 

14""  January,  1638,  the  11  Orders  abouesaid  are  voted. 

The  Oath  of  the  Gou''nor,  for  the  [p"sent]. 

I  Jfi.  113.  being  now  chosen  to  be  Gou'nor  w"'in  this  Jurisdic- 
tion, for  the  yeare  ensueing,  and  vntil  a  new  be  chosen,  doe 
sweare  by  the  greate  and  dreadfull  name  of  the  everliueing  God, 
to  p'mote  the  publicke  good  and  peace  of  the  same,  according 
to  the  best  of  my  skill ;  as  also  will  mayntayne  all  lawf all  priui- 
ledges  of  this  Comonwealth ;  as  also  that  all  wholesome  lawes 
that  are  or  shall  be  made  by  lawfuU  authority  here  established, 
be  duly  executed  ;  and  will  further  the  execution  of  Justice  ac- 
cording to  the  rule  of  Gods  word  ;  so  helpe  me  God,  in  the 
name  of  the  Lo  :  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Oath  of  a  Magestrate,  for  the  p^sent. 

I,  Jti.  1©.  being  chosen  a  Magestrate  w'Mn  this  Jurisdiction 
for  the  yeare  ensueing,  doe  sweare  by  the  great  and  dreadfull 
name  of  the  eueiliueing  God,  to  p'mote  the  publike  good  and 
peace  of  the  same,  according  to  the  best  of  my  skill,  and  that  I 
will  mayntayne  all  the  lawfuU  priuiledges  thereof  according  to 
my  vnderstanding,  as  also  assist  in  the  execution  of  all  such 
wholsome  lawes  as  are  made  or  shall  be  made  by  lawfull  author- 
ity heare  established,  and  will  further  the  execution  of  Justice 
for  the  tyme  aforesaid  according  to  the  righteous  rule  of  Gods 
word  ;  so  helpe  me  God,  etc. 

[Until  1752,  the  legal  year  in  England  began  March  25  (Lady  Day), 
not  January  1.  All  the  days  between  January  1  and  March  25  of  the 
year  which  we  now  call  1639  were  thei'efore  then  a  part  of  the  year 
1638 ;  so  that  the  date  of  the  Constitution  is  given  by  its  own  terms  as 
1638,  instead  of  1639.] 


c4 


r^ — J       ALASKA 
r  PURCHASE    / 

P  1868,      /  'i  g 


MAP  TO  ILLUSTRATE  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  TERRITORY 
BY  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Aiea  of  United  States  in  1783 827.844 

Austria- Hungary,  German  Empire,  France,  and  Spain      ....  854.906 
Louisiana  Purchase.  1803.  with  llie  portion  of  Oregon  territory  retained 

Austria-Hungry,  Geman  Empire.  Sweden.  Norway.  Denmark.  Belgium, 

France,  and  Spain 1.17I.IS4 

Florida  Purchase,  1819 59.368 

England  and  Wales 58,3=0 

Texan  Annejcalion,  1845 375.239 

Austria-Hungary,  Italy,  and  Switzerland 370.472 

Mexican  Cessions.  1848-53 59'.3iS 

iire,  France,  and  Spain    .        .       ■ S93':''^J 

Alaska.  1867 577.39° 

Austria-Hungary,  German  Empire,  and  Nor^vay 575.314 

United  Stales  since  1867 3.^02,990 

Europ 3.936.975 


^ 


STATES   CLASSIFIED.  335 

APPENDIX   F. 
THE  STATES  CLASSIFIED   ACCORDING  TO  ORIGIN. 

1.  The  thirteen  original  states. 

2.  States  formed  directly  from  other  states. 

Vermont  from  territory  disputed  between  New  York  and 
New  Hampshire,  Kentucky  from  Virginia,  Maine 
from  Massachusetts,         West  Virginia  from  Virginia. 

3.  States  from  the  Northwest  Territory  (see  p.  253). 

Ohio,  Michigan, 

Indiana,  Wisconsin, 

Illinois,  Minnesota,  in  part. 

4.  States  from  other  territory  ceded  by  states. 

Tennessee,  ceded  by  North  Carolina, 

Alabama,  ceded  by  South  Carolina  and  Georgia, 

Mississippi,  ceded  by  South  Carolina  and  Georgia. 

5.  States  from  the  Louisiana  purchase  (see  p.  253). 

Louisiana,  North  Dakota, 

Arkansas,  South  Dakota, 

Missouri,  Montana, 

Kansas,  Minnesota,  in  part, 

Nebraska,  Wyoming,  in  part, 

Iowa,  Colorado,  in  part. 

6.  States  from  Mexican  cessions. 

California,  Wyoming,  in  part, 

Nevada,  Colorado,  in  part. 

7.  States  from  territory  defined  by  treaty  with  Great  Britain 
(see  p.  254). 

Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho. 

8.  States  from  other  sources. 

Florida,  from  a  Spanish  cession, 
Texas,  by  annexation  (see  p.  254). 


336 


APPENDIX   G. 


APPENDIX    G. 

TABLE  OF  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES. 
{Ratio  of  representation  based  on  census  of  1S80  — 151,912.) 


Dates. 

No. 
1 

Names. 

Popula- 
tion to 
sq.  m. 

Area  in 
sq.  m. 

Popula- 
tion, 1880. 

if 

1787,  Dec.  7 

Delaware 

74.8 

2,050 

146,G08 

1 

3 

1 

Dec.  12 

2 

Pennsylvania 

95.2 

45,215 

4,282,891 

28 

30 

Dec.  18 

3 

New  Jersey 

151.7 

7,815 

1,131,116 

7 

9 

s 

1788,  Jan.  2 

4 

Georgia 

26.1 

59,475 

1,542,180 

10 

12 

"S 

Jan.  9 

5 

Connecticut 

128.5 

4,990 

622,700 

4 

6 

B 
O 

Feb.  6 

6 

Massachusetts 

221.8 

8,315 

1,783,085 

12 

14 

U  . 

April  28 

7 

Maryland 

94.8 

12,210 

934,943 

6 

8 

a 

May  23 

8 

South  Carolina 

33. 

30,570 

995,577 

7 

9 

S 

June  21 

9 

New  Hampshire 

38.5 

9,305 

346,991 

2 

4 

■73 
01 

June  25 

10 

Virginia 

37.7 

42,450 

1,512,565 

10 

12 

« 

July  26 

11 

New  York 

106.7 

49,170 

5,082,871 

34 

36 

Is 

1780,  Nov.  21 

12 

North  Carolina 

28.8 

52,250 

1,399,750 

9 

11 

A 

1790,  May  29 

13 

Rhode  Island 

254.9 

1,250 

276,531 

2 

4 

1791,  March  4 

14 

Vermont 

36.4 

9,565 

332,286 

2 

4 

1792,  June  1 

15 

Kentucky 

41.2 

40,400 

1,648,690 

11 

13 

179G,  June  1 

16 

Tennessee 

36.9 

42,050 

1,542,359 

10 

12 

1802,  Nov.  29 

17 

Ohio 

78.5 

41,060 

3,198,062 

21 

23 

1812,  April  30 

18 

Louisiana 

20.7 

48,720 

939,946 

6 

8 

181G,  Dec.  11 

19 

Indiana 

55.1 

36,350 

1,978,301 

13 

15 

1817,  Dec.  10 

20 

Mississippi 

24.4 

46,810 

1,131,597 

7 

9 

1818,  Dec.  3 

21 

Illinois 

55. 

56,650 

3,077,871 

20 

22 

1819,  Dec.  14 

22 

Alabama 

24.5 

52,250 

1,262,505 

8 

10 

1820,  March  15 

23 

Maine 

21.7 

33,040 

648,936 

4 

6 

B 

1821,  Aug.  10 

24 

Missouri 

31.5 

09,415 

2,168.380 

14 

16 

O 

183G,  June  15 

25 

Arkansas 

1.5.1 

53,850 

802;525 

5 

7 

'S 

1837,  Jan.  26 

26 

Micliigan 

28.5 

58,915 

1,636,937 

11 

13 

1845,  March  3 

27 

Florida 

5. 

58,680 

269,493 

2 

4 

1845,  Dec.  29 

28 

Texas 

G.l 

265,780 

1,591,749 

11 

13 

O  < 

1846,  Dec.  28 

29 

Iowa 

29.3 

56,025 

1,624,615 

11 

13 

184K,  May  29 

30 

Wisconsin 

24.2 

56,040 

1,315,497 

9 

11 

"c 

1850,  Sept.  9 

31 

California 

5.5 

158,3(;0 

864,694 

6 

8 

s 

1858,  May  11 

32 

Minnesota 

9.8 

83,365 

780,773 

5 

7 

S 

185<»,  Feb.  14 

33 

Oregon 

1.8 

96,030 

174,768 

1 

3 

^ 

1861,  Jan.  29 

34 

Kansas 

12.2 

82,080 

99G,096 

7 

9 

18113,  June  19 

35 

West  Virginia 

25.1 

24,780 

618,457 

4 

6 

1864,  Oct.  31 

36 

Nevada 

O.G 

110,700 

62,266 

1 

3 

1867,  March  1 

37 

Nebraska 

5.9 

76,855 

452,402 

3 

5 

1876,  Aug.  1 

38 

Colorado 

1.9 

103,925 

194,327 

1 

3 

1889,  Feb.  22] 

39 
40 
41 

North  Dakota  ) 
South  Dakota  ) 
Montana 

0.9 
0.3 

149,100 
146,080 

135,177 
39,159 

w 

1 

3 
4 
3 

I 

42 

Washington 

1.1 

69,180 

75,116 

1 

3 

1890,  July  3 

43 

Idaho 

0.4 

84,800 

32,610 

1 

3 

1890,  July  10 

44 

Wyoming 

0.2 

97,890 

20,789 

1 

3 

1850,  Sept.  9 

New  Mexico 

1. 

121,201 

119,565 

1 

18.50,  Sept.  9 

Utah 

1.7 

84,476 

143,963 

t^ 

1863,  Feb.  24 

Arizona 

0.4 

1 13,020 

40,440 

1868,  July  27 

Alaska 

,577,390 

no  census 

E? 

18.34,  June  30 

Iiii'iiLin  Territory 

64,690 

no  census 

o 

1791,  March  3 

Dist.  of  Columbia 
Unorganized    ter- 
ritory 

2,960.4 

70 
5,738 

177,624 

1890,  total  House  of  Representatives  332  +  Senate  88  =  electoral  votes  420. 

W3f  Thu  official  returns  of  the  ceusus  of  1890  are  not  yet  (Aug.  181)0)  published.  The  vari- 
ntions  from  tlie  figures  above  given  will,  of  course,  be  very  considerable  ;  especially,  no 
doubt,  in  the  case  of  the  newly  admitted  states. 


EXAMINATION  PAPER. 


337 


APPENDIX   H. 

POPULATION   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES,  1790-1880, 
Showing  Percentages  of  Urban  Population. 


Date. 

Pop.  of  U.  S. 

No.  of  Cities. 

Pop.  of  Cities. 

Percentage  of  Urban 
Population. 

1790 

3,929,214 

6 

131,472 

3.33 

1800 

5,308,483 

6 

210,873 

3.9 

1810 

7,239,881 

11 

356,920 

4.9 

1820 

9,633,822 

13 

474,135 

4.9 

1830 

12,866,020 

26 

864,509 

6.7 

1840 

17,069,453 

44 

1,453,994 

8.5 

1850 

23,191,876 

85 

2,897,586 

12.5 

1860 

31,443,321 

141 

5,072,256 

16.1 

1870 

38,558,371 

226 

8,071,875 

20.9 

1880 

50,155,783 
64,000,000, 

286 

11,318,597 

32.5 

1890 

estimated. 

APPENDIX   I. 

AN  EXAMINATION  PAPER  FOR   CUSTOMS  CLERKS. 

Applicant's  No.     . 
Applicant's  Decearation. 
Directions. —  1.  The  number  above  is  your  examination  number. 
Write  it  at  the  top  of  every  sheet  given  you  in  this  examination. 

2.  Fill  promptly  all  the  blanks  in  this  sheet.     Any  omission  may 
lead  to  the  rejection  of  your  papers. 

3.  Write  all  answers  and  exercises  in  ink. 

4.  Write  your  name  on  no  other  sheet  but  this. 

Place  this  sheet  in  the  envelope.     Write  your  number  on  the  en- 
velope and  seal  the  same. 

DECLARATION. 

I  declare  upon  my  honour  as  follows : 

1.  My  true  and  full  name  is  (if  female,  please  say  whether 
Mrs.  or  Miss) 

2.  Since  my  application  was  made  I  have  been  living  at  (give 
all  the  places) 


338  APPENDIX  I. 

3.  My  post-office  address  in  full  is 

4.  If  examined  within  twelve  months  for  the  civil  service  — 
for  any  post-office,  custom-house,  or  Department  at  Washing- 
ton—  state  the  time,  place,  and  result. 

5.  If  you  have  ever  been  in  the  civil  service,  state  where  and 
in  what  position,  and  when  you  left  it  and  the  reasons  therefor. 

6.  Are  you  now  under  enlistment  in  the  army  or  navy? 

7.  If  you  have  been  in  the  military  or  naval  service  of  the 
United  States,  state  which,  and  whether  you  were  honourably 
discharged,  when,  and  for  what  cause. 

8.  Since  my  application  no  change  has  occurred  in  my  health 
or  physical  capacity  except  the  following  : 

9.  I  was  born  at ,  on  the day  of ,188     . 

10.  My  present  business  or  employment  is 

11.  I  swore  to  my  application  for  this  examination  as  near  as 

I  can  remember  at  (town  or  city  of) ,  on  the day 

of ,  188     . 

All  the  above  statements  are  true,  to  the  best  of  my  knowl- 
edge and  belief. 

(^Signature  in  usual  form. ^ 

Dated  at  the  city  of ,  State  of ,  this day 

of ,  188     . 

First  Subject. 

Question  1.  One  of  the  examiners  will  distinctly  read  (at  a 
rate  reasonable  for  cojjying)  fifteen  lines  from  the  Civil- Service 
Law  or  Rules,  and  each  applicant  will  copy  the  same  below  from 
the  reading  as  it  proceeds. 

Question  2.  Write  below  at  length  the  names  of  fifteen  States 
and  fifteen  cities  of  the  Union. 

Question  3.   Copy  the  following  precisely : 

"  And  in  my  opinion,  sir,  this  principle  of  claiming  monopoly 
of  office  by  the  right  of  conquest,  unless  the  public  shall  effectu- 
ally rebuke  and  restrain  it,  will  eficctually  change  the  charac- 
ter of  our  Government.  It  elevates  party  above  country;  it  for- 
gets the  common  weal  in  the  pursuit  of  personal  emolument ;  it 
tends  to  form,  it  does  form,  we  see  that  it  has  formed,  a  politi- 
cal combination,  united  by  no  common  principles  or  opinions 
among  its  members,  either  upon  the  powers  of  the  Government 
or  the  true  policy  of  the  country,  but  held  together  simply  as  an 
association,  under  the  charm  of  a  popular  head,  seeking  to 
maintain  possession  of  the  Government  by  a  vigorous  exercise 


EXAMINATION  PAPER.  839 

of  its  patronage,  and  for  this  purpose  agitating  and  alarming 
and  distressing  social  life  by  the  exercitie  of  a  tyrannical  party 
proscription.  Sir,  if  this  course  of  things  cannot  be  checked, 
good  men  will  grow  tired  of  the  exercise  of  political  privileges. 
They  will  see  that  such  elections  are  but  a  mere  selfish  contest 
for  office,  and  they  will  abandon  the  Government  to  the  scram- 
ble of  the  bold,  the  daring,  and  the  desperate."  —  Daniel  Web- 
ster on  Civil  Service,  in  1832. 

Question  4.  Correct  any  errors  in  spelling  which  you  find  in 
the  following  sentences,  writing  your  letters  so  plainly  that  no 
one  of  them  can  be  mistaken  : 

Unquestionebly  every  federil  offeser  should  be  able  to  spell 
corectly  the  familier  words  of  his  own  languege. 

Lose  her  hankercheif  and  elivate  her  head  immediatly  or  she 
■will  spedily  loose  her  life  by  strangelation. 

Second  Subject. 

Question  1.  Multiply  2341705  by  23870  and  divide  the  pro- 
duct by  6789. 

Give  operation  in  full. 

Question  2.  Divide  two  hundred  and  five  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  five,  and  two  hundred  and  five  ten-thousandths,  by 
one  hundred  thousand  one  hundred,  and  one  hundredth. 

Question  3.  Multiply  lOf  by  71  and  divide  the  product  by  9|, 
reducing  the  same  to  the  simplest  form. 

Give  operation  in  full. 

Question  4.  The  annual  cost  of  the  public  schools  of  a  city  is 
$36,848.  What  school-tax  must  be  assessed,  the  cost  of  collect- 
ing being  2  per  cent. ,  and  6  per  cent  of  the  assessed  tax  being 
uncollectible  ? 

Give  operation  in  full. 

Question  5.  Add  7|,  f  of  6f ,  8^i,  61  divided  by  8^,  and  re- 
duce to  lowest  terms. 

Give  operation  in  full. 

Question  6.  The  Government  sold  3000  old  muskets  at  22^ 
per  cent,  of  their  cost.  The  purchaser  becoming  insolvent  paid 
only  13  per  cent,  of  the  price  he  agreed  to  pay;  that  is,  he  paid 
S900.     What  did  each  musket  cost  the  Government? 

Give  operation  in  full. 

Question  7.  What  will  it  cost  to  carpet  a  room  36  feet  wide  by 
72  feet  long  with  %  width  carpet  at  $2.12  per  yard,  including 


340  APPENDIX  I. 

cost  of  carpet-lining  at  11  cents  a  square  yard  and  12  cents  a 
yard  for  making  and  laying  the  carpet? 

Give  operation  in  full. 

Question  8.  A  owned  |^  of  a  ship  and  sold  |  of  his  share  to  B, 
■who  sold  |-  of  what  he  bought  to  C,  who  sold  ^  of  what  he 
bought  to  D.     What  part  of  the  whole  vessel  did  D  buy  ? 

Give  operation  in  full. 

Question  9.  A  man  bought  a  cargo  of  wool  and  sold  seven 
thousand  and  forty-five  ten-thousandths  of  it.  How  much  had 
he  left? 

Give  operation  in  full  in  decimal  fractions. 

Question  10.  A  merchant  imported  from  Bremen  32  pieces  of 
linen  of  32  yards  each,  on  which  he  paid  for  the  duties,  at  24 
per  cent,  $122.38,  and  other  charges  to  the  amount  of  $40.96. 
What  was  the  invoice  value  per  yard,  and  the  cost  per  yard 
after  duties  and  charges  were  paid  ? 

Give  operation  in  full. 

Third  Subject. 

Question  1.  On  a  mortgage  for  $3,125,  dated  July  5,  1880 
(interest  at  3^  per  cent),  a  payment  of  $840  was  made  April  23, 
1881.     What  amount  was  due  January  17,  1882? 

Give  operation  in  full. 

Question  2.  The  Government  sold  an  old  vessel  for  $160,000, 
payable  two  fifths  in  eight  months  and  the  residue  in  seventeen 
months  from  the  sale.  What  was  the  present  cash  value  of  the 
vessel,  the  current  rate  of  interest  on  money  being  five  per  cent? 

Give  operation  in  full. 

Question  3.  Write  a  promissory  note  to  be  given  by  J. 
Brown  to  J.  Smith,  for  60  days,  without  grace,  for  $500,  at  5 
per  cent  interest,  and  state  what  amount  will  be  due  at  matu- 
rity of  the  note. 

Question  4.  James  X.  Young,  a  contractor,  h:id  the  follow- 
ing dealings  with  the  Treasury  Department  :  He  furnished 
January  4,  1882,  14  tables  at  $16  each;  June  6,  1882,  180  desks 
at  $18.50  each;  December  7,  1882,  150  chairs  at  $2  each,  and 
July  18,  1883,  14  book-cases  at  $90  each.  He  was  paid  cash  as 
follows:  January  31,  1882,  $224;  June  30,  $1,800;  December  18, 
$300;  and  July  31,  1883,  he  was  allowed  on  settlement  $75  for 
cartage  and  charged  $25  for  breakages.  State  his  account  and 
show  balance  due. 


EXAMINATION  PAPER.  341 

Fourth  Subjpxt. 

Question  1.  State  the  meaning  of  tense  and  of  mood,  and  ex- 
plain the  difference  between  them  in  the  EngHsh  languao-e  or 
grammar. 

Question  2.  Correct  any  errors  you  find  in  the  following  sen- 
tences : 

The  boy  done  it,  and  he  is  as  restless  here  as  he  will  be  if  he 
was  with  you. 

He  had  did  it  and  spoke  of  doing  it  before  we  come  here. 

Question  3.  Write  a  letter  to  Senator  Jackson  answerino-  in 
full  his  letter  of  September  7  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
in  which  he  asks :  "  How  must  my  nephew  proceed  to  obtain  a 
clerkship  in  the  Treasury  Department,  under  the  Civil-Service 
Law,  and  what  are  the  requisite  qualifications  of  a  good 
clerk?" 

Fifth  Subject. 

Question  1.  Write  without  abbreviation  the  names  of  fifteen 
seaports  of  the  Union. 

Question  2.  Name  four  of  the  principal  tributaries  of  the 
Mississippi  River. 

Question  3.  Bound  the  State  in  which  you  live. 

Question  4.  W'hich  States  are  peninsular,  and  upon  what 
waters  are  they  situated  ? 

Question  5.  Name  six  of  the  principal  railroads  in  the  United 
States. 

Question  6.  Name  seven  of  the  leading  agricultural  products 
of  the  United  States,  and  state  in  what  section  of  the  country 
each  is  most  extensively  cultivated. 


342  APPENDIX  J. 

APPENDIX    J. 
THE    NEW  YORK  CORRUPT  PRACTICES  ACT  OF  1890. 

Chap.  94.  —  An  Act  to  amend  title  five  of  the  Penal  Code 
relating  to  crimes  against  the  elective  franchise. 

Approved  by  the  Governor  April  4,  1890.     Passed,  three  fifths  being  present. 

The  People  of  the  Slate  of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate  and 
Assembly,  do  enact  as  folloivs : 

Section  1.  Title  five  of  the  Penal  Code,  entitled  "  Of  crimes 
against  the  elective  franchise,"  is  hereby  amended  so  as  to  read 
as  follows  : 

§  41.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person,  directly  or  indirectly, 
by  himself  or  through  any  other  person  : 

1.  To  pay,  lend,  or  contribute,  or  offer  or  promise  to  pay,  lend, 
or  contribute  any  money  or  other  valuable  consideration,  to  or 
for  any  voter,  or  to  or  for  any  other  person,  to  induce  such  voter 
to  vote  or  refrain  from  voting  at  any  election,  or  to  induce  any 
voter  to  vote  or  refrain  from  voting  at  such  election  for  any  par- 
ticular person  or  persons,  or  to  induce  such  voter  to  come  to  the 
polls  or  remain  away  from  the  polls  at  such  election,  or  on  ac- 
count of  such  voter  having  voted  or  refrained  from  voting  or 
having  voted  or  refrained  from  voting  for  any  particular  person, 
or  having  come  to  the  poll  or  remained  away  from  the  polls  at 
such  election. 

2.  To  give,  offer,  or  promise  any  office,  place,  or  employment, 
or  to  promise  to  procure  or  endeavour  to  procure  any  office, 
place,  or  employment  to  or  for  any  voter,  or  to  or  for  any  other 
person,  in  order  to  induce  such  voter  to  vote  or  refrain  from 
voting  at  any  election,  or  to  induce  any  voter  to  vote  or  re- 
frain from  voting  at  such  election  for  any  particular  person  or 
persons. 

3.  To  make  any  gift,  loan,  promise,  offer,  procurement,  or 
agreement,  as  aforesaid,  to,  for,  or  with  any  person  in  order 
to  induce  such  person  to  procure  or  endeavour  to  procure  the 
election  of  any  person,  or  the  vote  of  any  voter  at  any  election. 

4.  To  procure  or  engage,  promise  or  endeavour  to  procure,  in 
consequence  of  any  such  gift,  loan,  offer,  promise,  procurement, 
or  agreement,  the  election  of  any  person  or  the  vote  of  any  voter 
at  such  election. 


NEW   YORK   CORRUPT  PRACTICES  ACT.     343 

5.  To  advance  or  pay  or  cause  to  be  paid  any  money  or  other 
valuable  thing  to  or  for  the  use  of  any  other  person  with  the  in- 
tent tliat  the  same,  or  any  part  thereof,  shall  be  used  in  bribery 
at  any  election,  or  to  knowingly  pay,  or  cause  to  be  paid,  any 
money  or  other  valuable  thing  to  any  person  in  discharge  or  re- 
payment of  any  money,  wholly  or  in  part,  expended  in  bribery 
at  any  election. 

§  41a.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, by  himself  or  thi-ough  any  other  person  : 

1.  To  receive,  agree,  or  contract  for,  before  or  during  an 
election,  any  money,  gift,  loan,  or  other  valuable  consideration, 
office,  place,  or  employment  for  himself  or  any  other  person,  for 
votino;  or  agreeing  to  vote,  or  for  coming  or  aofreeing  to  come  to 
the  polls,  or  for  remaining  away  or  agreeing  to  remain  away 
from  the  polls,  or  for  refraining  or  agreeing  to  refrain  from  vot- 
ing, or  for  voting  or  asreeinw  to  vote  or  refraining:  or  acrreeinsr 
to  refrain  from  voting  for  any  particular  person  or  persons  at  any 
election. 

2.  To  receive  any  money  or  other  valuable  thing  during  or 
after  an  election  on  account  of  himself  or  any  other  person  hav- 
ing voted  or  refrained  from  voting  at  such  election,  or  on  account 
of  himself  or  any  other  person  having  voted  or  refrained  from 
voting  for  any  particular  person  at  such  election,  or  on  account 
of  himself  or  any  other  person  having  come  to  the  polls  or  re- 
mained away  from  the  polls  at  such  election,  or  on  account  of 
having  induced  any  other  person  to  vote  or  refrain  from  voting 
or  to  vote  or  refrain  from  voting  for  any  particular  person  or  per- 
sons at  such  election. 

416.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  candidate  for  public  office, 
before  or  during  an  election,  to  make  any  bet  or  wager  with  a 
voter,  or  take  a  share  or  interest  in  or  in  any  manner  become  a 
party  to  any  such  bet  or  wager,  or  provide  or  agree  to  provide 
any  money  to  be  used  by  another  in  making  such  bet  or  wager, 
upon  any  event  or  contingency  whatever.  Nor  sliall  it  be  law- 
ful for  any  person,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  make  a  bet  or  wager 
with  a  voter,  depending  upon  the  result  of  any  election,  with  the 
intent  thereby  to  procure  the  challenge  of  such  voter,  or  to  pre- 
vent him  from  voting  at  such  election. 

§  41c.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, by  himself  or  any  other  person  in  his  behalf,  to  make  use 
of,  or  threaten  to  make  use  of,  any  force,  violence,  or  restraint, 
or  to  inflict  or  threaten  the  infliction  by  himself,  or  through  any 


344  APPENDIX  J. 

other  person,  of  any  injury,  damage,  harm,  or  loss,  or  in  any 
manner  to  practice  intimidation  upon  or  against  any  person,  in 
order  to  induce  or  compel  such  person  to  vote  or  refrain  from 
voting  at  any  election,  or  to  vote  or  refrain  from  voting  for  any 
particular  jierson  or  persons  at  any  election,  or  on  account  of 
such  person  having  voted  or  refrained  from  voting  at  any  elec- 
tion. And  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  by  abduction, 
duress,  or  any  forcible  or  fraudulent  device  or  contrivance  what- 
ever to  impede,  prevent,  or  otherwise  interfere  with,  the  free 
exercise  of  the  elective  franchise  by  any  voter  ;  or  to  compel, 
induce,  or  prevail  upon  any  voter  either  to  give  or  refrain  from 
giving  his  vote  at  any  election,  or  to  give  or  refrain  from  giving 
his  vote  for  any  particular  person  at  any  election.  It  shall  not 
be  lawful  for  any  employer  in  paying  his  employees  the  salary 
or  wages  due  them  to  inclose  their  pay  in  "  pay  envelopes  "  upon 
which  there  is  written  or  printed  any  political  mottoes,  devices, 
or  arguments  containing  threats,  express  or  implied,  intended  or 
calculated  to  influence  the  political  opinions  or  actions  of  such 
employees.  Nor  shall  it  be  lawful  for  any  employer,  within  ninety 
days  of  general  election  to  put  up  or  otherwise  exhibit  in  his  fac- 
tory, work-shop,  or  other  establishment  or  place  where  his  em- 
ployees may  be  working,  any  hand-bill  or  placard  containing  any 
threat,  notice,  or  information  that  in  case  any  particular  ticket  or 
candidate  shall  be  elected,  work  in  his  place  or  establishment 
will  cease,  in  whole  or  in  part,  or  his  establishment  be  closed  up, 
or  the  wages  of  his  workmen  be  reduced,  or  other  threats,  express 
or  implied,  intended  or  calculated  to  influence  the  political  opin- 
ions or  actions  of  his  employees.  This  section  shall  apjily  to 
corporations,  as  well  as  to  individuals,  and  any  person  or  corpo- 
ration violating  the  provisions  of  this  section  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanour,  and  any  corporation  violating  this 
section  shall  forfeit  its  charter. 

§  41r7.  Every  candidate  who  is  voted  for  at  any  public  election 
held  within  this  state  shall,  within  ten  days  after  such  election, 
file  as  hereinafter  provided  an  itemized  statement,  showing  in 
detail  all  the  moneys  contributed  or  expended  by  him,  directly 
or  indirectly,  by  himself  or  through  any  other  person,  in  aid  of 
his  election.  Such  statement  shall  give  the  names  of  the  vari- 
ous persons  who  received  such  moneys,  the  specific  nature  of 
each  item,  and  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  expended  or  con- 
tributed. There  shall  be  attached  to  such  statement  an  aflidavit 
subscribed  and  sworn  to  by  such  candidate,  setting  forth  in  sub- 


NEW   YORK   CORRUPT  PRACTICES  ACT.     345 

stance  that  the  statement  thus  made  is  in  all  respects  true,  and 
that  the  same  is  a  full  and  detailed  statement  of  all  moneys 
so  contributed  or  expended  by  him,  directly  or  indirectly,  by 
himself  or  through  any  other  person  in  aid  of  his  election. 
Candidates  for  offices  to  be  filled  by  the  electors  of  the  entire 
state,  or  any  division  or  district  thereof  greater  than  a  county, 
shall  file  their  statements  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state. 
The  candidates  for  town,  village,  and  city  offices,  excepting  the 
city  of  New  York,  shall  file  their  statements  in  the  office  of  the 
town,  village,  or  city  clerk  respectively,  and  in  cities  wherein 
there  is  no  city  clerk,  with  the  clerk  of  the  common  council 
wherein  the  election  occurs.  Candidates  for  all  other  offices, 
including  all  offices  in  the  city  and  county  of  New  York,  shall 
file  their  statements  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  county 
wherein  the  election  occurs. 

§  41e.  A  person  offending  against  any  provision  of  sections 
forty-one  and  forty-one-a  of  this  act  is  a  competent  witness 
against  another  jjerson  so  offending,  and  may  be  compelled  to 
attend  and  testify  upon  any  trial,  hearing,  proceeding,  or  inves- 
tigation in  the  same  manner  as  any  other  person.  But  the  tes- 
timony so  given  shall  not  be  used  in  any  prosecution  or  proceed- 
ing, civil  or  criminal,  against  the  person  so  testifying.  A  person 
so  testifying  shall  not  thereafter  be  liable  to  indictment,  prose- 
cution, or  punishment  for  the  offense  with  reference  to  which  his 
testimony  was  given  and  may  plead  or  prove  the  giving  of 
testimony  accordingly,  in  bar  of  such  an  indictment  or  prose- 
cution. 

§  4iy]  Whosoever  shall  violate  any  provision  of  this  title,  upon 
conviction  thereof,  shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  a 
county  jail  for  not  less  than  three  months  nor  more  than  one 
year.  The  offenses  described  in  section  ^  forty-one  and  forty- 
one-a  of  this  act  are  hereby  declared  to  be  infamous  crimes. 
When  a  person  is  convicted  of  any  offense  mentioned  in  sec- 
tion forty-one  of  this  act  he  shall  in  addition  to  the  punishment 
above  prescribed,  forfeit  any  office  to  which  he  may  have  been 
elected  at  the  election  with  reference  to  which  such  offense  was 
committed  ;  and  when  a  person  is  convicted  of  any  offense  men- 
tioned in  section  forty-one-a  of  this  act  he  shall  in  addition  to 
the  punishment  above  prescribed  be  excluded  from  the  right  of 
suffi'age  for  a  period  of  five  years  after  such  conviction,  and  it 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  county  clerk  of  the  county  iu  which 
1  So  in  the  oiiuinal. 


346  APPENDIX  J. 

any  such  conviction  shall  be  had,  to  transmit  a  certified  copy  of 
the  record  of  conviction  to  the  clerk  of  each  county  of  the  state, 
-within  ten  days  thereafter,  which  said  certified  copy  shall  be 
duly  filed  by  the  said  county  clerks  in  their  respective  offices. 
Any  candidate  for  ollice  who  refuses  or  neglects  to  file  a  state- 
ment as  prescribed  in  section  forty-one-d  of  this  act  shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanour,  punishable  as  above  provided 
and  shall  also  forfeit  his  office. 

§  A\g.  Other  crimes  against  the  elective  franchise  are  defined, 
and  the  punishment  thereof  prescribed  by  special  statutes. 

§  2.  Section  forty-one  of  the  Penal  Code,  as  it  existed  prior 
to  the  passage  of  this  act,  is  hereby  repealed. 

§  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 


FORM   OF  AUSTRALIAN  BALLOT.  347 


APPENDIX  K. 

FORM  OF  AUSTRALIAN  BALLOT  ADOPTED  IN  MASSA- 
CHUSETTS, 1889. 

OFFICIAL   BALLOT 

FOB 

Precinct        ,  Ward        , 

of  (city  or  town), 

NOVEMBER       ,  18      . 

[Fac-Simile  of  Signature  of  Secretary.] 

Secretary  of  the  Commonwealtlt. 


SAMPLE   BALLOT, 

With  explanations  and  illustration. 


Prepared  by  the  Ballot  Act  League  with  the  approval  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 


Some  representative  districts  elect  one,  some  two,  and  a  few 
three  representatives  to  the  General  Court.  Worcester  County 
elects  four  commissioners  of  insolvency  instead  of  three  as 
in  other  counties. 

No  county  commissioners  or  special  commissioners  will  be 
voted  for  in  the  cities  of  Boston  and  Chelsea  or  the  county  of 
Nantucket. 


Forms  for  nominating  candidates  can  be  had  at  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 


Carefully  observe  the  official  specimen   ballots  to  be  posted 
and  published  just  before  election  day. 


348  APPENDIX  K. 


To  vote  for  a  Person,  mark  a  Cross  X 
GOVERNOR Vote  for  ONE. 


OLTVER   AMES,  of  Easton 

Republican.  |      ) 

WILLIAM   H.  EARLE,  of  Worcester        .... 

Prohibition.  | 

WILLIAM  E.    RU8SELL,  of  Cambridge      .... 

Democratic.  | 

1 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR      .       . 

Vote  for  ONE. 

JOHN   BASCOM,  of  Williamstown 

Prohibition.  | 

JOIIN   Q.  A.  BRAOtEl'T,  of  Arlington 

Republican.  | 

JOHN    W.  CORCORAN,  of  Clinton 

Democratic.  | 

1 

SECRETARY  

.    Vote  for  ONE. 

WILLIAM   N.  OSGOOD,  of  Boston 

Democratic.  | 

HENRY    B.  PEIRCE,  of  Abington           .... 

Republican.  | 

HENRY   C.  SMITH,  of  Williamsburg          .... 

Prohibition.  | 

1 

TREASURER 

Vote  for  ONE. 

JOHN   M.  FISHER,  of  Attleborough          .... 

Prohibition.  | 

GKORGE   A.  MARDEN,  of  Lowell 

Republican.  | 

HENRY   C.  THACHER,  of  Yarmouth           .... 

Democratic.  | 

1 

AUDITOR 

.    Vote  for  ONE. 

OHARLKS   R.  LADD,  of  Springfield 

.     Republican.  | 

EDMUND  A.  STOWE,  of  Hudson 

Prohibition.  | 

WILLIAM   A.  WILLIAMS,  of  Worcester     .... 

.     Democratic.  | 

1 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL  .... 

.    Vote  for  ONE. 

ALLEN   COFFIN,  of  Nantucket 

Prohibition.  | 

SAMUEL   0.  LAMB,  of  Greenfield 

Democratic.  | 

ANDREW  J.   WATERMAN,  of  Pittstield     .... 

Republican.  | 

1 

COUNCILLOR,  Third  District       . 

.    Vote  for  ONE. 

ROBERT  0.  FULLER,  of  Cambridge 

Republican.  | 

WILLIAM   E.  PLUMMER,  of  Newton     .... 

Democratic.  | 

SYLVANUS  C.  SMALL,  of  Winchester       .... 

Prohibition.  | 

1 

SENATOR,  Third  Middlesex  District      . 

.    Vote  for  ONE. 

FREEMAN    HUNT,  of  Cambridge 

Democratic.  | 

CHESTER  W.  KINGSLEY,  of  Cambridge       . 

(  Republican.  1 
1  Prohibition.  | 

1 

DISTRICT  ATTORNEY.  Northern  District 

Vote  for  ONE. 

CHARLES   S.  LINCOLN,  of  Somerville        .... 

Deinocratic.  | 

JOHN    M.   RKAD,  of  Lowell 

I'rohibition.  | 

WILLIA.M   B.  STEVENS,  of  Stoneham        .... 

Republican.  | 

1 

FORM  OF  AUSTRALIAN  BALLOT.  349 


in  the  Square  at  the  right  of  the  name. 


REPRESENTATIVES  IN  GENERAL 

First  Middlesex  District. 

COURT 

Vote  for  TWO. 

WILLIAM   H.  MARBLE,  of  Cambridge      . 

Prohibition.  | 

ISAAC   McLEAN,  of  Cambrulge 

,           Demccratic.  | 

GEORGE  A.  PERKINS,  of  Cambridge 

Democratic.  ] 

JOHN  READ,  of  Cambridge 

Republican.  | 

CHESTER  F.  SANGER,  of  Cambridge 

.     Republican.  | 

WILLIAM   A.  START,  of  Cambridge       .        .        .        • 

Prohibition.  | 

SHERIFF 

Vote  for  ONE. 

HENRY   G.  GUSHING,  of  Lowell 

Republican.  | 

HENRY   G.  UARKINS,  of  Lowell        .... 

Prohibition.  | 

WILLIAM  H.  SHERMAN,  of  Ayer          .... 

Democratic.  | 

1 

COMMISSIONERS  OP  INSOLVENCY. 

Vote  for  THREE. 

JOHN   W.  ALLARD,  of  Framingham 

Democratic.  | 

GEORGE   J.  BURNS,  of  Ayer 

Republican.  | 

WILLIAM  P.  CUTTER,  of  Cambridge 

Prohibition.  | 

FREDERIC   T.  GREENHALGE,  of  Lowell     . 

Republican.  | 

JAMES  HICKS,  of  Cambridge 

Prohibition.  | 

JOHN   C.  KENNEDY,  of  Newton 

Republican.  | 

RICHARD   J.  McKELLEGET,  of  Cambridge       . 

Democratic.  [ 

EDWARD   D.  McVEY,  of  Lowell 

Democratic.  | 

ELMER  A.  STEVENS,  of  Somerville  .... 

Prohibition.  | 

COUNTY  COMMISSIONER. 

.    Vote  for  ONE. 

WILLIAM   S.  FROST,  of  Marlborough 

Republican.  | 

JOSEPH   W.  BARBER,  of  Sherbom        .... 

Prohibition.  | 

JAMES   SKINNER,  of  Woburn 

Democratic.  | 

1 

SPECIAL    COMMISSIONERS     . 

.  Vote  for  TWO. 

HENRY   BRADLEE,  of  Medford           .... 

Democratic.  | 

LYMAN   DYKE,  of  8toneham 

Republican.  | 

JOHN   J.  DONOVAN,  of  Lowell 

Democratic.  | 

WILLIAM    E.  KNIGHT,  of  Shirley          .... 

Prohibition.  \ 

ORSON   E.  MALLORY,  of  Lowell 

Prohibition.  | 

EDWIN  E.  THOMPSON,  of  Woburn       .... 

Republican.  1 

350 


APPENDIX  K. 


SKETCH  OF  POLLING  PLACE. 

SUGGESTIONS   TO  VOTERS. 

Give  your  name  and  residence  to  the  ballot  clerk,  who,  on  finding  your  name  on 
the  check  list,  will  admit  you  within  the  rail  and  hand  you  a  ballot. 

Go  alone  to  one  of  the  voting  shelves  and  there  unfold  your  ballot. 

Mark  a  cross  X  'i*  tli^  square  at  the  right  of  the  name  of  each  person  for  whom 
you  wish  to  vote.  No  other  method  of  marking,  such  as  erasing  names,  will  an- 
swer. 

Thus,  if  you  wished  to  vote  for  John  Bowles  for  Governor,  you  would  mark 
your  ballot  in  this  way  :  — 


GOVERNOR    .... 

.      Vote  for  ONE. 

JOHN   BOWLES,  of  Taunton 

Prohibition.  |  X 

THOMAS  E.  MEANS,  of  Boston       . 

Democratic.  | 

ELIJAH  SMITH,  of  Pittsfield      . 

Republican.  | 

1 

If  you  wish  to  vote  for  a  person  whose  name  is  not  on  the  ballot,  write,  or  insert 
by  a  sticker,  the  name  in  the  blank  line  at  the  end  of  the  list  of  candidates  for  the 
office,  and  mark  a  cross  X  in  the  square  at  the  right  of  it.  Thus,  if  you  wished  to 
vote  for  George  T.  Morton,  of  Chelsea,  for  Governor,  you  would  prepare  your  bal- 
lot in  this  way  :  — 


GOVERNOR    .... 

.     Vote  for  ONE. 

JOHN    BOWLES,  of  Taunton 

Prohibition.  | 

TIIO.MAS   E.  >t HANS,  of  Boston 

Democratic.  | 

ELIJAH   SMITH,  of  I'ittsfield      . 

Republican.  1 

George  T.  RLirton,  of  Chelser. 

IX 

Notice,  that  for  some  ofBces  you  may  vote  for  "  two  "  or  "  three ''  candidates,  as 
stated  in  the  ballot  at  the  right  of  the  name  of  the  office  to  be  voted  for,  e.  g. : 
"Commissioners  of  Insolvency.    Vote  for  Three."' 

If  you  spoil  a  ballot,  return  it  to  the  ballot  clerk,  who  will  give  you  anothei. 
You  cannot  have  more  than  two  extra  ballots,  or  three  in  all. 


FORM   OF  AUSTRALIAN  BALLOT.  351 

You  cannot  remain  within  the  rail  more  than  ten  minute?,  and  in  case  all  the 
shelves  are  in  use  and  other  voters  waiting,  you  are  allowed  only  five  minutes  at 
the  voting  shelf. 

Before  leaving  the  voting  shelf,  fold  your  ballot  in  the  same  way  as  it  was  folded 
when  you  received  it,  and  keep  it  so  folded  until  you  place  it  in  the  ballot  box. 

Do  not  show  any  one  how  you  have  marked  your  ballot. 

Go  to  the  ballot  box  and  give  your  name  and  residence  to  the  officer  in  charge. 

Put  your  folded  ballot  in  the  box  with  the  certificate  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Commonwealth  uppermost  and  in  sight. 

You  are  not  allowed  to  carry  away  a  ballot,  whether  spoiled  or  not. 

A  voter  who  declares  to  the  presiding  ofiScial  (under  oath,  if  required)  that  he 
was  a  voter  before  May  1,  1857,  and  cannot  read,  or  that  he  is  blind  or  physically 
unable  to  mark  his  ballot,  can  receive  the  assistance  of  one  or  two  of  the  election 
officers  in  the  marking  of  his  ballot. 


INDEX. 


Abbots,  50. 

Adams,  H.,  277. 

Adams,  H.  B.,  xiii.,  46,  98. 

Adams,  H.  C,  272. 

Adams,  J.,  227,  232,  235. 

Adams,  J.  Q.,  227,  263. 

Adams,  S.,  31,  162. 

Adirondacks,  127. 

Agora,  34. 

Alabama,  shire  towns  in,  62. 

Aladdin's  lamp,  133. 

Albany  Congress,  203. 

Aldermen,  102,  107,  108,  111,  114,  122. 

Alexander  VI.,  140. 

Alfred  the  Great,  9,  40,  43,  51. 

Alice  in  the  Looking-Glass  Country,  84. 

Allinson,  E.  P.,  134. 

Ambassadors,  238. 

Amending  constitutions,  195,  248. 

Amendments  to  Constitution  of  United 
States,  190,  227,  256. 

Andrews,  C.  M.,  46. 

Andrews,  E.  B.,  273. 

Andros,  Sir  E.,  149. 

Annapolis,  113,  206. 

Arthur,  C.  A.,  264. 

Articles  of  Confederation,  205,  248. 

Assemblies,  colonial,  154,  160 ;  dissolu- 
tion of,  161,  165 ;  primary  and  repre- 
sentative, 99. 

Assessment  and  collection  of  taxes, 
25-29,  33,  45,  51,  63,  77,  78. 

Assessors,  20,  21,  24-29,  33,  41,  45,  78, 
79,  116. 

Assistants,  in  New  York,  111 ;  in  Massa- 
chusetts, 147. 

Athens,  34,  172. 

Attainder,  247. 

Attorney-generals,  169,  240. 

Auditors,  130,  169. 

Australia,  57. 

Australian  ballot,  265. 

Babeau,  A.,  15. 
Bagehot,  W.,  274. 
Bailiffs,  36,  75. 
Ballot,  24,  205. 
Baltimore,  Lord,  150. 
Bancroft,  G.,  185,  272. 
Band-of-States   and   Banded-State,  244, 
250. 


Bank,  national,  260. 

Barrington,  36. 

Barrows,  W.,  186. 

Base  lines,  82,  88. 

Beadles,  36,  38. 

Beckford,  W.,  109. 

Bemis,  E.,  89,  92,  94,  98. 

Berkeley,  Lord,  144,  152. 

Bill  of  Rights,  190,  256. 

Board  of  estimate  in  Brooklyn,  131. 

BoUing,  J.,  58. 

Bonham,  J.  M.,  274. 

Boroughs,  50  ;  in  England,  103-111  ;  in 

some  American  states,  103. 
Borough-reeves,  106. 
Boston,  27,  31,  85,  101,   102,  119,  139; 

list  of  city  officials,  122. 
Bourinot,  J.  G.,  98. 
Bouvier,  J.,  189. 
Bowen,  F.,  277 
Brentano,  L.,  139. 
Bribery,  129,  266. 
Brigandage  in  England  in   fourteenth 

century,  52. 
Bristol,  106. 

Brooklyn,  116,  119,  130-133,  137. 
Brotherhoods,  75,  76. 
Browne,  W.  H.,  151,  185. 
Buchanan,  J.,  231. 
Buckle,  H.  T.,  15. 
Bugbee,  J.  M.,  123,  139. 
Bundesstaat,  244. 
Bunker  HiU,  158,  205. 
Burgesses,  103,  146. 
Burgesses,  House  of,  145,  155. 
Burgoyne,  J.,  208. 
Burgundy,  Duke  of,  1. 
Burr,  A.,  227. 

Bryce,  J.,  193,  216,  217,  233,  272. 
By-laws,  31,34,  36,  38,  59,  112. 

Cabinet,  236-240. 

Cabinet    ?>j.    presidential   goTerument, 

167-169,  236. 
Cabot,  J.,  140. 
Cairo,  111.,  89. 
California,  57,  93,  95. 
Calvert,  C,  150. 
Cambridge,  Eng.,  103. 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  17,  102,  271. 
Carr,  D.,  203. 


354 


INDEX. 


Carr,  L.,  186. 

Carteret,  Sir  G.,  145,  152. 

Cartier,  J.,  140. 

"Casters,"  castra,  104,  114. 

Cato,  G5. 

Caucus,  congressional,  232. 

Cemeteries,  2. 

Centralization  vs.  local  self-government, 
274. 

Centralized  administration  in  France, 
173,  174. 

Century,  76. 

Chalmers,  M.  D.,  50,  273. 

Chamberlains,  111. 

Chancellor,  221. 

Chaiming,  E.,  46,  58,  64. 

Charing  Cross,  108. 

Charles  I.,  143,  150. 

Charles  II.,  143,  149,  193. 

Charles  City  county,  Va.,  62. 

Charles  river,  146. 

Charleston,  S.  C.  (city),  72,  73 ;  (county), 
74. 

Charter  of  Connecticut,  193;  of  Mary- 
land, 150  ;  of  1606,  142. 

Charters  of  Massachusetts,  146, 149, 202, 
204. 

Charters  and  constitutions,  188,  189. 

Charters  of  mediaeval  towns,  188. 
.  Cheating  tlie  government,  28. 

Cherokees,  75. 

Cheshire,  a  county  palatine,  150. 

"Chesters,"  castra,  104,  114. 

Chicago,  27,  85,  86,  116,  119. 

Chimneys,  121. 

Christendom,  188. 

Clmrches,  16,  37,  38. 

Church-rates,  37. 

Churchwardens,  38,  59. 

Circumlocution  office,  126. 

Cities,  50  ;  in  Virginia,  58,  146  ;  defini- 
tion of,  in  England  and  in  the  United 
States,  103  ;  rapid  growth  of,  119,  137  ; 
government  of,  116-139  ;  debts  of,  120, 
127,  134  ;  corruption  in,  110,  114,  118, 
135. 

Citizens,  duty  of,  10,  11. 

Civil  service,  128,  132,  261-264. 

Civil  War,  73,  80,  170,  177,  246,  258,  263. 

Clans,  .35,  45,  104 ;  their  relation  to 
tribes,  49,  54  ;  to  hundreds,  75, 80. 

Clay,  H.,  232. 

Clergymen  formerly  supported  by  taxa- 
tion, 46. 

Clerk,  city.  111,  123;  county,  63,  73; 
market.  111 ;  parish,  38  ;  town,  20, 24, 
32,  33,  79 ;  vestry,  38,  59. 

Cleveland,  G.,  231,  264. 

"  Cloister  and  the  Hearth,"  1. 

Close  corporations,  60,  63,  79,  110. 

Collectors  of  taxes,  21,  38,  79. 

Colorado,  93,  95. 

Columbia,  S.  C,  73. 

Comilia,  34. 

Committees  of  city  council,  116,  125  ;  of 
correspondence,  162,  203 ;  of  legisla- 
tive bodies,  168 ;  of  safety,  162  ;  inef- 
ficient for  executive  work,  126. 

Common  coinicil,  102,  103,  107,  108,  114. 

Common  drivers,  38. 


Common  pasture,  18. 

Commons,  House  of,  8,  13,  40,  50,  110, 
135,  146,  161,  165,  193,  220. 

Commonwealth,  5. 

Communes  in  France,  173. 

Company,  Loudon,  141,  159 ;  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  146, 147, 159  ;  Plymouth, 
141,  159. 

Complexity  of  city  administration,  122- 
124,  137. 

Comptrollers,  130,  169. 

Comstock,  J.  M.,  264,  275. 

Confederacy,  New  England,  202. 

Confederation  distinguished  from  fed- 
eral union,  244,  250. 

Confederation,  the  Articles  of,  205,  248. 

Congress,  at  Albany,  203 ;  St.amp  Act, 
203;  Continental,  7,  204-210,  253; 
Provincial,  162,  204  ;  Federal,  212-218, 
244. 

Connecticut,  253,  255 ;  settlement  of,  17, 
143 ;  size  of  counties  in,  74  ;  colonial 
government  of,  149, 153, 159,  163 ;  fun- 
damental orders  of,  192  ;  compromise, 
214. 

Constables,  2,  21,  24,  32,  33,  37,  39,  63, 
79,  87,  123  ;  high,  76,  77,  111 ;  petty, 
36. 

Constitutions,  written,  187-200. 

Constituent  Assembly  of  1790  in  France, 
174. 

Construction,  strict  and  loose,  259. 

Consular  service,  238. 

Contagious  diseases,  20. 

Contract,  legal  idea  of,  developed  by  the 
Romans,  188. 

Convention,  the  Federal,  209,  243,  253. 

Conventions,  definition  of,  195 ;  nomi- 
nating, 233. 

Cooley,  T.  M.,  186,  275. 

Cooke,  J.  E.,  186. 

Coruwallis,  Lord,  258. 

Coroners,  51,  54,  63,  73,  78,  111. 

Correction  lines,  83. 

Cotton,  J.,  17. 

Council,  governor's,  155 ;  privy,  155, 
193,  237. 

Counts,  51. 

County,  25,  38,  48-100;  origin  of,  49, 
54;  in  Massachusetts,  54-.'>7;  in  Vir- 
ginia, 57-67;  in  South  Carolina,  73, 
74 ;  in  Maryland,  77  ;  in  Delaware,  78 ; 
in  Pennsylvania,  78-80 ;  in  New  York, 
79,  SO  ;  in  the  West,  84-98  ;  sizes  of, 
61 ,  68,  74,  80  ;  shapes  of,  84,  86.  88. 

County  boards,  92,  93,  90 ;  commission- 
ers, 55,  73,  78  ;  courts,  51,  54,  61,  148 ; 
lieutenants,  64  ;  treasurers,  .'55,  C3. 

Courts,  baron,  36,  75,  150  ;  circuit,  250 ; 
city,  111,  178;  common  pleas,  112; 
coroners',  51  ;  cotmty,  51,  61,  64,  78, 
148,  178;  district,  250;  federal,  207, 
250-252;  general,  41,  148,  192;  hun- 
dred, 76  ;  insolvency,  .'55  ;  leet,  36,  38, 
75,  150 ;  levy,  78  ;  probate,  .55 ;  Quar- 
ter Sessions,  .'52  ;  superior,  .55,  178  ;  su- 
preme, 178  ;  Supreme,  of  United 
States,  1(!9,  250-2.52  ;  of  Appeals  in 
Cases  of  Capture,  207  ;  actions  and 
procedure  in,  69. 


INDEX. 


355 


Court-day  in  Virginia,  65. 

Court-houses,  55,  G'2. 

Crawford,  W.  H.,  232,  202,  264. 

Cressingham,  36. 

CromweU,  O.,  110,  191. 

Crowuer,  or  corouer,  51. 

Curia,  76. 

Custom-house  duties,  157,  175,  257-259. 

Dakota,  85,  91,  92,  94. 

Davenport,  J.,  17. 

Davis,  H.,200. 

Dawes,  Miss  A.  L.,  273. 

Debts  of  cities,  120,  127,  134. 

Declaration  of  rights,  190. 

Dedham,  Mass.,  22. 

Deeds,  55,  68. 

Deerfield,  Mich.,  83,  84. 

Delaware,  210,  213,  225,  255  ;  local  insti- 
tutions in,  78. 

Delinquents,  21. 

Delusions  about  government,  30,  33, 
133. 

Demagogues,  30,  133. 

Democracy,  unbridled,  169. 

Democratic  party,  260. 

Denizens,  165. 

Denmark,  205,  238. 

Denver,  Colo.,  119. 

Departments  in  France,  173. 

Deputies  in  Massacliusetts,  137. 

Dickens,  C,  14,  126. 

Diocese  and  city,  103. 

Diplomatic  service,  238. 

Direct  and  indirect  government,  99-104. 

Discreet  men,  40. 

Disorders  in  1786,  209. 

Dissolution  of  assemblies,  parliaments, 
etc.,  161,  165. 

District  of  Columbia,  244. 

District  attorneys,  251. 

Districts,  in  South  Carolina,  72,  73 ; 
electoral,  216. 

Dole,  C.  F.,  273. 

Dole,  E.  P.,  70,  186,  275. 

Dongan,  T.,  111. 

Dorcliester  Company,  146,  159. 

Dorcliester,  Mass.,  17. 

Douglas,  S.  A.,  230. 

Duellists,  165. 

Dunn,  J.  P.,  186. 

Durham,  a  county  palatine,  l.W. 

Dutch  in  New  Netherland,  79,  98,  111, 
144. 

EaUlormen,  49-51. 

East  Anglia.  M. 

East  India  Company,  157. 

East  Saxons,  49. 

Eaton,  D.  B.,  275. 

Ecclesiii,  34. 

Educational  value  of  town-meetings,  31, 

34. 
Edward  I..  40,51. 
Edward  III.,  52. 
Eglestoii,  M.,  46. 
Elastic  Clause,  245,  259. 
Election  of  Congress,  219. 
Elective  and  appointive  officers,  132. 
Elective  judiciary,  179. 


Electoral  commission,  228. 

Electoral  college,  in  Maryland,  164  ;  for 
electing  president  of  United  States, 
220-235. 

Elizabetli,  queen  of  England,  77. 

Eltiug,  I.,  98. 

Ely,  R.  T.,  275. 

Emerson,  T.,  xvii. 

Eminent  domain,  4,  12,  13. 

England,  5-8,  12,  16,  17,  35-45,  48-54, 
58,  75-77,  95,  100,  103-111,  113,  114, 
135,  140-146,  153,  164,  172,  177,  184, 
187,  189-193,  197-202,  220,  234,  237. 

Entails  in  Virginia,  58. 

Envoys,  238. 

Essex,  Eng.,  49. 

Essex,  Mass.,  53. 

Eternal  vigilance  the  price  of  liberty,  11. 

Excise,  258. 

Executive  and  legislative  departments 
separated  in  tlie  United  States,  but 
not  in  Europe,  167-169,  235,  236. 

Exemptions  from  taxation,  26,  33. 

P^xports,  prohibition  of  duties  on,  246. 

Fairfax  Court  House,  Va.,  62. 

Faneuil  Hall,  101,  123. 

Farms  in  New  England,  18,  32. 

Farrer,  T.  H.,  273. 

Federalist,  the,  276. 

Federalist  party,  259. 

Fence-viewers,  23,  33,  38,  79,  123. 

Field-drivers,  23,  33,  123. 

Fines  for  non-attendance,  19. 

Finsbury,  108. 

Fires  and  fire  departments,  2,  121. 

Firma  hurgi,WO,  111. 

Fiske,  J.,  American  Political  Ideas,  47  ; 

Beginnings  of  New  England,  143, 149  ; 

Critical  Period  of  American  History, 

14,  98,  165,  206,  213,  246,  272;  War  of 

Independence,  14,  158. 
Florence,  172. 
Florida,  202,  228. 
Ford,  W.  C,  272. 
Foreign  voters,  133-135. 
Foresight,  lack  of,  121. 
foni  m ,  .34. 

Foster,  W.  E.,  xvi.,  277. 
France,  7,  12,  161,  207,  208. 
Franklin,  B.,  120,  163,  203,  209,  224. 
Freedom  of  speech  and  press,  2.56. 
Freedom    too    often    destroyed   in  the 

process  of  nation-building,  39. 
Freeman,  E.  A.,  9,  40,  105,  273. 
French  in  Canada,  202  ;  claims  to  the 

possession  of  Nortli  America,  140, 159 ; 

words  in  English,  5. 

Gage,  T.,  162. 

Gardiner,  S.  R.,  191,  200. 

G.-irfield,  J.  A.,  231. 

Gay,  S.  H.,  277. 

Gener.il  Court,  41,  148,  192. 

General  Sessions,  53. 

George  II.,  8. 

George  III.,  109,  142,  158,  210. 

Georgia,  144,  1,53,  255. 

Germans,  35,  72. 

Gerry,  E.,  216,  217. 


356 


INDEX. 


"  Gerrymander,"  217. 

Oilman,  D.  C,  277. 

Gladstone,  W.  E.,  6. 

Gneist,  R.,  139,  273. 

Gomme,  G.  L.,  47. 

Government,  definition  of,  5-8,  12 ;  de- 
lusions about,  30,  33,  133  ;  direct  and 
indirect,  99-104 ;  always  cumbrous, 
169. 

Governor-general,  224. 

Governors,  royal,  66,  125,  163  ;  republi- 
can, before  the  Revolution,  148  ;  since 
the  Revolution,  169-171. 

Gouverner,  5. 

Grant,  U.  S.,  234. 

Greeks,  34,  75,  80,  125. 

Green,  J.  R.,  189. 

Guatemala,  238. 

Gubernare,  5. 

Guilds,  107,  108,  115,  139. 

Hamilton,  A.,  209,  257-259,  261,  276. 

Hanover  Court  House,  Va.,  62. 

Harrison,  B.,  231. 

Hartford,  Conn.,  62,  192. 

Harvard  College,  22. 

Haste  in  constructing  public  works,  120. 

Hayes,  R.  B.,  228,  231. 

Haywards,  38. 

Hearn,  W.  E.,  47. 

Henry  I.,  106,  109. 

Henry  VIII.,  9,  52. 

Henry  of  Keighley,  220. 

Henry,  Patrick,  67. 

Higginson,  F.,  17. 

Hill,  F.  A.,  xiv. 

Hinsdale,  B.  A.,  81. 

History,  study  of,  9,  10,  13. 

Hitchcock,  H.,  179,  195,  200. 

Holcomb,  W.  P.,  79,  139. 

Holland,  7,  207. 

Hoist,  H.  von,  275. 

Hooker,  T.,  17. 

Hosmer,  J.  K.,  31,  191,  277. 

House  of  Burgesses,  145, 155  ;  Commons, 
8,  13,  40,  50,  110,  135,  146,  161,  165, 
193,  220 ;  Lords,  50,  164,  165,  221 ; 
Representatives,  state,  165 ;  Repre- 
sentatives, federal,  212-221,  244. 

Howard,  G.  E.,  46,  60,  64,  70,  79,  85,  92. 

Howe,  W.  W.,  139. 

Hudson  river,  141. 

Huguenots,  71. 

Hundred,  origin  of,  75,  70,  80 ;  courts, 
76,  80,  105 ;  in  some  cases  equivalent 
to  a  borough,  105, 114 ;  in  Delaware, 
78,  80. 

Hundredman,  76. 

Hundred-meetings  in  Maryland,  77. 

Hungorford,  Sir  T.,  220. 

Hutchinson,  T.,  155. 

Icklingham,  49. 

Illinois,  81,  87,  95,  253;  township  and 

county  government  in,  89-91,  96. 
Impeachment,  221. 
Imperalor,  225. 
Indentured  servants,  58. 
Indiana,  81,  90,  2.'J3 ;  townships  in,  92. 
Indians,  18,  32,  34,  76,  80,  146,  156,  202. 


Ingle,  E.,  64,  70,  98. 
Inquests,  52. 

Inspectors  of  buildings,  122 ;  of  elec- 
tions, 79. 
"  Instrument  of  Government,"  the,  191. 
Insurrections,  56,  69. 
Intercitizenship,  248. 
Interior,  department  of,  240. 
Internal  improvements,  260. 
Iowa,  95,  195 ;  townships  in,  192. 

Jackson,  A.,  232,  262,  263. 

Jails,  2,  58. 

James  I.,  110,  143. 

James  II.,  144,  152,  190. 

James  City  county,  Va.,  62. 

James  river,  142. 

Jameson,  J.  F.,  Ill,  176,  207,  272. 

Jamestown,  146. 

Jay,  J.,  276. 

Jefferson,  T.,  58,  60,  65,  81,  227,  232, 
234,  235,  259,  260,  261. 

Jevons,  W.  S.,  277. 

John,  King  of  England,  189. 

Johns  Hopkins  University  Sttidies  in 
History  and  Politics,  31,  46,  58,  64, 
70,  72,  79,  89,  90,  92,  94,  98, 120, 123, 
139,  176,  272. 

Johnson,  A.,  221. 

Johnson,  J. ,  98. 

Johnson,  R.  M.,228. 

Johnston,  A.,  154, 185,  200,  275. 

Journal  of  Congress,  219. 

Judges,  city,  116  ;  federal,  250-252  ;  ap- 
pointment or  election,  and  tenure  of 
office,  179. 

Jurisdiction,  federal,  251. 

Jurors,  20,  21,52,  78. 

Justices  in  eyre,  51. 

Justices  of  the  peace,  87,  108 ,  in  Eng- 
land, 52  ;  in  Massachusetts,  53,  55  ;  in 
Virginia,  61 ;  in  Delaware,  78. 

Kansas,  85,  94,  95  ;  townships  in,  92. 

Kemiebec  river,  142. 

Kent,  kingdom  of,  50. 

Kentucky,  90 ;  shire  towns  in,  62  ;  size 

of  counties  in,  74 ;  settlement  of,  81, 

88. 
Kidnapping,  58. 
King,  R.,  186. 

Kings,  39,  50,  51,  112,  157,  164. 
Kitchin,  G.  W.,  14. 

Lacombe,  P.,  14. 

Laird,  19. 

Lalor,  J.  J.,  275. 

Lancaster,  duchy  of,  150. 

Land  grants  in  Massachusetts,  17  ;   in 

Virginia,  58. 
Lane.sborough,  Mass.,  27. 
Laveleye,  E.,  47. 
Lawton,  G.  W.,  275. 
Lecky,  W.  E.  H.,  15. 
Legal  tender,  245. 
Legisl.ation  in  New  York  with  reference 

to  cities,  128. 
Leicester,  S.   de  Montfort,  Earl  of,  40, 

110,  ll.'i. 
Levermore,  C.  H.,  139. 


INDEX. 


357 


Levy  court  in  Delaware,  78. 

Lewes,  battle  of,  110. 

Lewis,  Sir  G.  C,  274. 

Lexington,  158. 

Liberty,  the  French  notion  of,  174. 

Libiaries,  public,  '1. 

Licenses,  20. 

Lieutenant-governors,  1G4. 

Lincoln,  A.,  6,  32,  170,  230,  231. 

Lions,  35. 

Liquid  measures,  sliriukage  of,  29. 

Livingston  county,  Mich.,  84. 

Local  government  in  New  England  and 
in  Virginia  before  the  Revolution, 
contrasted,  04-07. 

Local  option  between  township  and 
county  government,  90-92,  96. 

Local  self-government  vs.  centralization, 
274. 

Locke,  J.,  188. 

Lodge,  H.  C,  185,  277. 

Loftie,  W.  J.,  108.  139. 

"Log-roUing,"  93,  125,  127,  129. 

London,  85,  100-110,  113,  115, 139. 

Loudon  Company,  141,  159. 

Longman,  W.,  52. 

Lord-lieutenants,  52,  64,  108. 

Lord  mayors  of  Loudon,  107,  108. 

Lords,  House  of,  50,  1G4,  165,  221. 

Lords  of  the  manor,  19,  37,  38,  50,  75, 
76. 

Lords  proprietary,  150-153. 

Louis  XIV.,  8,  9. 

Louis  XV.,  7,  8. 

Louisiana,  95,  228 ;  parishes,  48 ;  pur- 
chase, 253. 

Low,  S.,  120,  121,  130,  139. 

Lowell,  A.  L.,  169,  274. 

Lynch  law,  72,  80,  97,  171. 

MacAlister,  J.,  vi.,  273. 

Machine,  132. 

Macv,  J.,  98,  273. 

Madison,  J.,  07,  209. 

Magnzine  of  American  History,  111. 

"  Magic  fund  "  delusion,  30,  33,  86, 
133. 

Magna  Charta,  39,  189,  197. 

Magruder,  A.  B.,  277. 

Maine,  143,  218. 

Maine,  Sir  H.,  47,  274. 

Maitland,  F.  W.,  273. 

Makeshifts,  tendency  to  adopt  them, 
121. 

Manors,  36,  39,  75. 

Marblehead,  Mass.,  89. 

March-meetings,  39. 

Marcy,  W.  L.,  263. 

M<irk.  35,  43. 

Marriage  certificates,  21. 

Marsliall,  J.,  67. 

Marshals,  207,  251. 

Martin,  G.  H.,  46,  70,  272. 

Mary  II.,  190. 

Maryland,  144,  195,  253, 256  ;  local  insti- 
tutions in,  75-77,  80;  foimding  of, 
150,  151,  160. 

Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  152,  160. 

Massachusetts,  16,  74,  110,  143, 140,253, 
255,266. 


May,  Sir  E.,  135. 

Mayflower  compact,  192. 

M-ayors,  102,  111,  114,  116,  122,  125,  127, 

130-132,  136  ;  of  London,  107,  108 ;  in 

France,  173. 
Mead,  E.  D.,  275. 
"  Mean  whites,"  their  origin,  59. 
Measurers  of  wood,  23,  24,  33. 
Meeting-houses,  19. 
Mercia,  50. 

Meridian,  principal,  81-83,  88. 
Merrimack  river,  146. 
Messages,  governor's,  170 ;  president's, 

235. 
Mexico,  141,  254 
Michigan,   81,   82,  89,  90,  95,  195,  253 ; 

county  board  in,  92. 
Middle  Saxous,  49. 
Middlesex,  Eng.,  49. 
Middlesex,  Mass.,  53. 
Militia,  52,  64,  77,  170. 
Minneapolis,  86. 
Minnesota,  91,  93,  95. 
Mir,  in  Russia,  42. 

Missouri,  90-92,  225 ;  townahips  in,  92. 
Mitchell's  Atlas,  62. 
Moderators,  24. 
Mohawks,  75. 
Mommsen,  T.,  9. 
Monroe,  J.,  231. 
Montana,  93. 

Montfort,  S.  de,  40,  110,  115. 
Montgomerie  charter  in  New  York,  112. 
Morris,  R.,206. 
Morse,  J.  T.,  234,  277. 
Moses,  B.,  139. 
Municipal    Corporations    Reform    Act, 

111,  135. 
Municipal  government  in  England,  103- 

111;    in  tlie  United   States,   111-136, 

138 ;  politics  sliould  be  kept  clear  of 

national  politics,  135. 

Names,  geographical,  their  significance, 
36,  49,  51,  02,  103. 

Napoleon  I.,  174. 

Nasse,  E.,  47. 

National  Republicans,  259 

Navy  department,  240. 

Nebraska,  85,  92,  94. 

Negroes,  58,  94. 

Nevada,  93. 

New  England,  settlement  of,  16,  32. 

New  Hampshire,  53,  94,  143,  195,  199, 
256. 

New  Haven,  139,  143. 

New  Jersey,  95,  145,  230,  255. 

New  Netlierland,  144,  152. 

New  Orleans,  139. 

New  York  (city),  27,  101,  111-113,  115, 
119,  127-129,  200;  (state),  79,  81,  iK), 
127-129,  145,  195,  213,  225,  253,  256, 
261  ;  intlueuce  of,  upon  the  North- 
west, 80. 

Newcastle,  100. 

Newfoundland,  140. 

Newspapers,  31,  100. 

Nichols,  R.,  111. 

Nordhoir,  C.,273. 

Norfolk,  Eng.,  49. 


358 


INDEX. 


Norfolk  (1643)  in  Massachusetts,  53. 
Normau  Conquest,  36,  51,  5i,  76,  105. 
North  Carolina,  62,  144, 153,  256. 
Northam,  H.  C.  273. 
Northumbria,  50. 
Norwich,  Eng.,  106,  111. 
Nuisances,  20. 
Numbering  of  streets,  84. 

Oglethorpe,  J.,  153. 

Ohio,  81,  90,  195,  253. 

"  One-man  power,"  125,  130,  13T. 

Ordinance  of  1785  concerning  survey  of 
pubUc  lands,  81,  88. 

Ordinance  of  1787  establishing  govern- 
ment of  northwestern  territory,  90, 
253  255. 

Oregon,  81,  82,  93,  254. 

Overseers  of  the  poor,  20,  21,  33,  38,  60, 
78,  79,  87,  116,  122;  of  roads,  in 
Maryland,  77  ;  of  towns,  in  New  York, 
79. 

Oxford,  103. 

Paestum,  101. 

Palatine  counties,  150,  160. 

Paper  money,  7,  245,  246. 

Pardon,  governor's  prerogative,  170 ; 
too  freely  used  in  United  States,  171 ; 
president's,  234. 

Parishes,  in  England,  36-39,  41,  43,  45, 
46  ;  in  Louisiana,  48  ;  in  South  Caro- 
lina, 71-73 ;  in  Virginia,  59-61,  65. 

Paris,  173. 

Parliament,  6,  155  ;  its  supremacy  never 
admitted  in  America,  156,  160 ;  disso- 
lution of,  161,  165 ;  the  Model,  40. 

Parties,  origin  of,  245,  249. 

Partition  fences,  23. 

Party  politics,  132,  135. 

Patronage,  264. 

Paupers,  21. 

Peers,  creation  of,  165. 

PeUew,  G.,  277. 

Penn,  W.,  145,  141,  203. 

Pennsylvania,  81,  95,  152,  202,  210,  255, 
258,  261 ;  local  institutions  in,  78 ; 
Municipal  Commission,  134. 

Penrose,  B.,  134. 

Perjury,  27. 

Personal  property,  taxation  of,  25-28, 
45. 

Perry,  A.  L.,  277. 

Petersburg,  Va.,  89. 

Phear,  Sir  J.  B.,  47. 

Philadelphia,  119,  133,  204  ;  streets  in, 
83,  84  ;  municipal  government  of,  113, 
115,  116,  139. 

Phratries,  75. 

Plantagenet  period,  78. 

Plantations,  140. 

Plymouth,  colony  of,  143. 

Plymouth  Company,  141,  159. 

Police,  52,  113,  122 ;  commissioners, 
128. 

Polk,  J.  K.,  231. 

Poll-tax,  25,  33. 

Poore,  B.  P.,  276. 

Poorhouses,  2,  21,  122. 

Population,  rural  and  urban,  119. 


Port-reeves,  106. 

Porter,  J.  A.,  139. 

Portland,  Oregon,  82,  145. 

Portugal,  205. 

Posse  comilalus,  51,  56. 

Postmaster-general,  240. 

Pound-keepers,  23,  33. 

Pound-masters,  79. 

Precincts  in  Virginia,  63. 

Prefects  in  France,  173. 

Premiers,  236,  237. 

President,  origin  of  tlie  title,  163,  224 ; 
of  councils,  162-163 ;  of  provincial 
congresses,  162 ;  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  206 ;  of  the  United  States, 
222-236 ;  nomination  of,  233 ;  veto 
power  of,  222  ;  his  appointments,  261- 
264. 

Presidential  succession,  228. 

Preston,  H.,  200,  276. 

Prices  affected  by  paper  money,  246  ; 
and  by  tariff,  258. 

Primaries,  233. 

Priors,  50. 

Privilege  from  arrest,  etc.,  220. 

Probate  courts,  55,  73. 

Probyn,  J.  W.,  274. 

Proprietary  colonies,  150-153,  160. 

Provincial  period,  in  the  history  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, 154. 

Public  lands,  surveys  of,  81-85. 

Qualifications  for  office,  166. 
Quarter  Sessions,  Court  of,  52,  53,  01. 
Quiucy,  J.,  102. 

Railroads,  13. 

Ramage,  B.  J.,  72-98. 

Range-lines,  82,  88. 

Rappahannock  river,  141. 

Rate  of  taxation,  28,  29,  34. 

Reade,  C,  1. 

Real  estate,  taxation  of,  25-28,  45. 

Recorders,  111. 

Records,  20,  53,  03,  122. 

Reelection  of  town  officers,  32. 

Reeves,  36,  40,  41. 

Referendum,  196. 

Register  of  deeds,  55  ;  of  probate,  55. 

Regulating  Act,  158. 

"Regulators"  on  the  Carolina  fron- 
tiers, 72. 

Representation,  40-43,  46,  50,  61,  73,  77, 
110,  146,  154. 

Representatives,  Hovise  of,  state,  165; 
federal,  212-221,  244. 

Republican  colonies,  1.53. 

Republican  parties,  259,  260. 

Requisitions,  210. 

Reservations  of  land  for  sdiools,  86. 

Responsibility  of  public  otBcials,  32,  34, 
110,  125-132,  171. 

Restricting  the  suffrage,  133-135 ;  in 
the  early  history  of  Massacluisetts, 
148. 

Revolution,  American,  2,  7, 11-14, 31, 66, 
77,  109,  112,  142,  158,  160-166,  203- 
208,  258  ;  English,  149,  157  ;  French, 
2,  11,  13,  14,  174. 

Rex,  225. 


INDEX. 


359 


Rhode  Island,  74,  143,  149,  153, 159, 163, 
256. 

Rivers  in  Virginia,  58. 

Roads,  2,  3,  20,  21,  53,  63,  78,  101. 

Robbery  and  taxation,  8,  9,  12. 

Roberts,  E.  H.,  185. 

Romans,  34,  75,  76,  125,  164,  225 ;  de- 
veloped the  idea  of  contract,  188. 

Roosevelt,  T.,  277. 

"  Rotation  in  office,"  32,  262-2G4. 

Rousseau,  J.  J.,  188. 

Royal  colonies,  153. 

Royce,  J.,  186. 

Roxbury,  22. 

Runnymede,  189. 

Rupert,.  W.  W.,  273. 

RusseU,  B.,  217. 

Russia,  5,  42,  43. 

Sabbath-breakers,  38. 

Safeguards  against  unbridled  democ- 
racy, 169. 

St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  140. 

St.  Lawrence  river,  140. 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  84,  116,  139. 

Salaries  of  clergymen  in  early  times  in 
Massachusetts,  46 ;  in  Virginia,  GO. 

Salem,  Mass,  146. 

Salem,  Oregon,  145. 

San  Francisco,  116,  139. 

Sanitary  problems,  122. 

Santa  F^,  140. 

Sato,  Shoshuke,  98. 

Scandinavians,  35. 

School-district  as  incipient  township, 
74,  87-89,  93-96. 

Schools,  public,  2,  13,  18,  22,  23,  44,  72, 
86,  93-96 ;  commissioners,  73  ;  com- 
mittees, 22-24,  45,  123 ;  superinten- 
dent, 23  ;  teachers,  23,  45. 

Schouler,  J.,  239,  275. 

Schurz,  C,  277. 

Scotch,  72. 

Scotland's  connection  with  England, 
156. 

ScruHn  d'arrondissement,  etc.,  218. 

Scudder,  H.  E.,  185. 

Sealers  of  weiglits  and  measures,  23,  24, 
33. 

Secretary  of  state,  237  ;  of  the  treasury, 
239. 

Sections  of  townships,  85. 

Seebohm,  F.,  47. 

Selectmen,  6,  20,  21,  24,  31-34,  38,  59,79. 

Self-government  in  the  United  States, 
172 ;  contrasted  with  centralization 
in  France,  173,  174. 

Semi-royal  colony  of  Massachusetts, 
154. 

Senate,  in  South  Carolina,  73 ;  federal, 
214-218,  2»4  ;  origin  of,  164. 

Seneschals,  75. 

Sentiment  of  union,  208. 

Sewerage,  20. 

Sextons,  60. 

Shaler,  N.  S.,  186. 

Sliaw,  A.,  90,  98,  139. 

Shep-ard,  E.  M.,  277. 

Slieriffs,  in  England,  50,  106  ;  in  Massa- 
chusetts, 56 ;    in  Virginia,  63,  67  ;  iu 


South  Carolina,  72,  73  ;  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, 78  ;  in  New  York  (city),  111. 
Ship  of  state,  5. 
Sliire,  origin  of,  49,  50. 
Shiremotes,  40,  43,  50-52,  54. 
Shire-reeve,  50. 
Shire  towns,  54,  62. 
Shrines,  37. 

Simon  of  Montfort,  40,  110,  115. 
Skeat,  W.  W.,51. 
Slavery,  58,  90,  177,  253,  255. 
Small,  A.  W.,  272. 
Smith,  Toulmin,  47,  139,  274. 
Snow,  M.  S.,  139. 
Social  contract,  theory  of,  188. 
Social  position  of  early  settlers,  18,  33, 

59. 
Socrates,  34. 
Solicitor-general,  240. 
South   Carolina,  62,  71,  72,  74,  80,  94, 

144,  153,  228,  247,  255. 
South  Saxons,  49. 
Southampton,  106. 
Spanish  claims  to  North  America,  140, 

159. 
Spartans,  9. 
Speaker,  220. 
Speculation,  134. 
Spencer,  D.  E.,  98. 
Spencer,  Herbert,  274. 
"  Spoils  system,"  135,  261-264. 
Spring,  L.  W.,  186. 
Staatenbtmd,  244. 
Stamp  Act,  203. 
Stanwood,  E.,  232,  275. 
States,  25 ;  greatness  of  their  retained 
powers,  175-177  ;  limits  to  the  same, 
175  ;  govenmients,  166-184  ;  not  fit  to 
take  care  of   cities,  127-129 ;  legisla- 
tures, 164  ;   senates,  164  ;   governors, 
1C9-171 ;      executive     officers,     170 ; 
courts,  177-184. 
States  General  in  France,  161. 
Stephens,  H.  M.,  14. 
Stevens,  J.  A.,  277. 
Stewards,  36,  76. 
Stray  animals,  23. 
Streets,  3,  101  ;  in  Philadelphia,  83,  84  ; 

commissioners,  116;  lights,  113. 
Stubbs,  W.,  139,  200,  273. 
Stump  speeches,  66. 
Stuart,  G.,  217. 
Suffrage,    universal,   97,   133-135,    137, 

138,  166,  173. 
Suffolk,  Eng.,  49. 
Suffolk,  Mass.,  53. 
Sumner,  W.  G.,  263,  277. 
Superintendents  of  schools,  23 ;  of  edu- 
cation   (in   states),   170 ;    of    streets, 
122. 
Supervisors,  in  New  York,  79 ;  in  Illi- 
nois and  Michigan,  92. 
Surveyors  of  highways,  23,  38,  63,  77- 

79,  87  ;  of  lumber,  23,  24,  33. 
Surveys  of  public  lands,  81-85. 
Sussex,  49. 

Sweden's  connection  with  Norway,  156. 
Swedes  in  Delaware,  144. 
Swiss  Referendum,  196. 
Syracusau  war,  34. 


3G0 


INDEX. 


Taine,  H.  A.,  14. 

Tariff,  258,  2G0. 

Taswell-Langmead,  T.  P.,  139,  247,  273. 

Taussig,  F.  W.,  277. 

Taxation  essential  to  the  existence  of 
government,  7  ;  involved  in  reserva- 
tion of  lands  for  schools,  80  ;  of  the 
American  colonies,  150-100 ;  federal, 
257-259. 

Taxes  and  taxation,  1-15,  25-29,  39,  44, 
C3,  120,  127,  131,  151,  210,  257-259. 

Taylor,  H.,  139,  200,  274. 

Taylor,  Z.,  231. 

Tea-ships  at  Boston,  162. 

Tennessee,  settlement  of,  81. 

Territories  and  tlieir  government,  253. 

Texas,  253. 

Tliames  river,  108. 

Thermopyhie,  9. 

Thorpe,  F.  N.,  239,  272. 

Three  fifths  compromise,  213. 

Tildeu,  S.  J.,  228. 

Tintoretto,  101. 

Tithiug-men,  3G,  38,  45. 

Tobacco,  57,  GO,  63. 

Tobacco-viewers,  77. 

Tocqueville,  A.  de,  15,  272. 

Tower  of  London,  108. 

Town,  different  senses  in  which  the 
word  is  used,  102-104 ;  clerk,  20 ; 
treasurer,  21,  33  ;  pumps,  113. 

Town-meetings,  in  New  England,  19,  24, 
30,  31,  33,  34,  44,  162  ;  in  Boston,  31, 
101 ;  in  New  York  (state),  79,  80  ;  in 
ancient  England,  3G-43 ;  in  Greece 
and  Rome,  34 ;  in  Russia,  42  ;  vitality 
of,  91,  96,  97  ;  prohibited  by  Regulat- 
ing Act,  158. 

Townsliend  Acti?,  203. 

Township  in  New  England,  16-34,  41, 
77  ;  its  origin,  38  ;  Jefferson's  opinion 
of,  65 ;  in  the  West,  83-98 ;  in  Mich- 
igan, 89 ;  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Iowa, 
Missouri,  and  Kansas,  92. 

Townsliip  lines,  82,  88. 

Traill,  H.  D.,  273. 

Treasurers,  town,  21,  33 ;  county,  55, 
63,  78  ;  city,  111 ;  state,  73,  169. 

Treasury  of  the  United  States,  239. 

Treaties,  234. 

Trenton,  200. 

Trial  justices,  56,  73. 

Trustees  of  western  townships,  92. 

Tun,  35,  43,  45. 

Ttingemot,  36. 

Tweed  Ring,  129. 

Tyler,  J.,  260. 

Tyler,  M.  C,  217,  277. 

Undervaluation  of  property,  29,  34. 
Unit  of  representation,  in  England,  41  ; 

in  New  England,  41  ;  in  Virginia,  61  ; 

in  South  Carolina,  71  ;  in  Maryland, 

77  ;  in  Pennsylvania,  78. 

Vane,  Sir  H.,  191. 

Variety,  wholesome  and  instructive,  in 


development   of  local   institutions   in 

the  United  States,  93,  179. 
Vermont,  94. 
Verrazano,  G.  de,  140. 
Versailles,  9. 
Vestry-meetings,  in  England,  37,  43;  in 

Virginia,  59,  00 ;   in  South  Carolina, 

71. 
Veto,  mayor's,  117, 125, 127  ;  governor's, 

165,  169,  171 ;  president's,  222 ;  king's, 

165,  222. 
Vice-president,  220. 
Villages,  in  New  England,  18 ;  ancient, 

35  ;  Indian,  35  ;  Russian,  42. 
Virginia,  90,  195,  213,  253,  255  ;  settle- 
ment of,  57-61,  67  ;  hundreds  in,  77  ; 

shire  towns  in,  62,  67 ;  size  of  counties 

in,  74  ;  representative  government  in, 

145,  155,  159. 
Voting  as  a  substitute  for  fighting,  95. 

Walpole,  S.,  273. 

War  department,  240. 

"  War  governors,"  170. 

Wards  of  a  city,  105,  108,  111. 

Warrant  for  town-meeting,  24,  33,  43. 

Washington.  G.,  67,  119,  209,  229,  231, 
232,  234,  235,  258,  263. 

Washington,  D.  C,  84, 139. 

Washington  (state),  93. 

Washtenaw  county,  Mich.,  84. 

Water-works,  121. 

Watertown,  Mass.,  17. 

Way-wardens,  38. 

Weighers,  123. 

West  Saxons,  50. 

West  Virginia,  shire  towns  in,  62. 

Westward  movement  of  population,  81. 

Wethersfield,  Conn.,  192. 

Whig  party,  259,  263. 

Whiskey  insurrection,  258. 

White  House,  236. 

"  White  trash,"  59. 

Wigmore,  J.  H.,  277. 

Wilhelm,  W.,  98. 

William  the  Conqueror,  106. 

William  III.,  190. 

Wills,  55.  69. 

Wilson,  A.  J.,  273. 

Wilson,  W.,  176,  178,  196,  251,  273. 

Windsor,  Conn.,  192. 

Winsor,  J.,  139,  185,  218. 

Wisconsin,  81,  93,  95,  253. 

Woman  sutfrage,  94,  95. 

Women  on  school  committees,  95 ;  rep- 
resentation of,  46,  94. 

Woolsey,  T.  D.,  277. 

Worcester  county,  Mass.,  62. 

Wreckage,  51. 

Wyoming  (state),  93-95. 

York,  106. 
Yorktowu,  258. 

Zones  into  which  North  America  was 
divided  by  royal  grants  of  1606, 141- 
145,  159. 


Books  on  Government  and 
Political  History, 


American  Commonwealths. 

A  Series  of  Volumes  narrating  the  History  of  such 
States  of  the  Union  as  have  a  striking  political,  social,  or  eco- 
nomical history.  Edited  by  Horace  E.  Scudder.  With  Maps 
and  Indexes.     Each  volume,  uniform,  i6mo,  gilt  top,  $1.25. 

VIRGINIA.  A  History  of  the  People.  By  John 
Esten  Cooke,  author  of  "  Life  of  Stonewall  Jackson,"  etc. 

OREGON,  The  Struggle  for  Possession.  By  Wil- 
liam Barrows,  D.  D. 

MAR  YLAND.  The  History  of  a  Palatinate.  By 
William  Hand  Browne,  Associate  of  Johns  Hopkins  University. 

KENTUCKY.  A  Pioneer  Commonwealth.  By 
Nathaniel  S.  Shaler,  S.  D.,  Professor  in  Harvard  University, 
recently  Director  of  Kentucky  State  Survey. 

MICHIGAN.  A  History  of  Governments.  By 
Thomas  Mclntyre  Cooley,  LL.  D.,  formerly  Chief  Justice  of 
Michigan. 

KANSAS.  The  Prelude  to  the  War  for  the  Union. 
By  Leverett  W.  Spring,  formerly  Professor  in  the  University  of 
Kansas. 

CALIFORNIA.  From  the  Conquest  in  1846  to  the 
Second  Vigilance  Committee  in  San  Francisco.  By  Josiah  Royce, 
formerly  Professor  in  University  of  California. 

NEW  YORK.  The  Planting  and  the  Growth  of 
the  Empire  State.     By  Ellis  H.  Roberts.     2  vols. 

CONNECTICUT.  A  Study  of  a  Commonwealth- 
Democracy.  By  Professor  Ale.xander  Johnston,  author  of 
"  American  Politics." 

MISSOURI.  A  Bone  of  Contention.  By  Lucien 
Carr,  M.  A. 

INDIANA.  A  Redemption  from  Slavery.  By  J. 
P.  Dunn,  Jr. 


OHIO.  First  Fruits  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  By 
Rufus  King,  A.  M.,  of  Cincinnati. 

{In  Preparation?) 

NE  W  yERSE  V.  By  Austin  Scott,  Ph.  D.,  Profes- 
sor of  History,  etc.,  in  Rutgers  College. 

ILLINOIS.     By  E.  G.  Mason,  of  Chicago. 

PENNSYLVANIA.  By  Wayne  MacVeagh,  late 
Attorney-General  of  the  United  States. 

The  books  are  not  mere  State  histories,  they  are  something  much 
more  and  very  much  better  than  that.  They  are  attempts  to  embody 
what  is  most  distinct  and  peculiar  in  the  political  life  and  history  of  each 
State,  and  to  show  how  that  has  contributed  to  the  development  of  the 
whole.  The  widespread  interest  awakened  in  the  past  of  our  nation 
will  find  much  to  satisfy  it  in  these  volumes,  for  the  design  is  original 
and  the  execution  excellent.  — George  Willis  Cooke. 

American  Statesmen. 

A  Series  of  Biographies  of  Men  famous  in  the  Politi- 
cal History  of  the  United  States.  Edited  by  John  T.  Morse,  Jr. 
Each  volume,  i6mo,  gilt  top,  $1.25;  half  morocco,  $2.50. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  By  John  T.  Morse, 
Jr.,  author  of  "  A  Life  of  Alexander  Hamilton,"  etc. 

ALEXANDER  HAMILTON.  By  Henrj^  Cabot 
Lodge,  author  of  "  Studies  in  History,"  etc. 

yOHNC.  CALHOUN.      By  Dr.   H.  Von   Hoist, 

author  of  the  "  Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States." 

ANDRE  W  JACKSON.  By  Prof.  William  G.  Sum- 
ner, author  of  "  History  of  American  Currency,"  etc. 

JOHN  RANDOLPH.  By  Henry  Adams,  author 
of  "  New  England  Federalism,"  etc. 

JAMES  MONROE.  By  D.  C.  Gilman,  President 
of  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore. 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON.     By  John  T.  Morse,  Jr. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER.     By  Henry  Cabot  Lodge. 

ALBERT  GALLATIN.  By  John  Austin  Stevens, 
recently  editor  of  the  "Magazine  of  American  History." 

JAMES  MADISON  By  Sydney  Howard  Gay, 
author  (with  William  CuUen  Bryant)  of  "A  Popular  History  of 
the  United  States." 

JOHN  ADAMS.     By  John  T.  Morse,  Jr. 

JOHN  MARSHALL.     By  Allan  B.  Magruder. 


SAMUEL  ADAMS.     By  Prof.  James  K.  Hosmer, 
author  of  "  Young  Sir  Henry  Vane,"  etc. 

THOMAS    HART    BENTON.        By   Theodore 
Roosevelt,  author  of  "  The  Winning  of  the  West,"  etc. 

HENR  Y  CLA  V.     By  Carl  Schurz.     2  vols. 

PATRICK  HENRY.     By  Moses  Coit  Tyler,  au- 
thor of  "  History  of  American  Literature,"  etc. 

GO  U VERNE UR  MORRIS.    By  Theodore  Roose- 
velt. 

MARTIN  VAN  BUREN     By  Edward  M.  Shep- 
ard. 

GEORGE    WASHINGTON.      By  Henry  Cabot 
Lodge.     2  vols. 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.      By  John  T.  Morse, 
Jr. 

JOHN  JA  Y     By  George  Pellew,  author  of  "  Wo- 
man and  the  Commonwealth,"  etc. 

ZE  WIS  CASS.     By  Andrew  C.  McLaughlin,  Assist- 
ant Professor  of  History  in  Michigan  University.     (/«  Press.) 

The  series  is  doing  an  immense  service  to  the  reading  public  and  to 
the  cause  of  history  in  bringing  forth  adequate  though  brief  records  of 
the  lives  of  eminent  men  of  whom  the  general  knowledge  has  become 
vague,  erroneous,  or  traditional.  —  Neiu  York  Times. 

Every  young  American'ought  to  read,  and  if  possible  own,  this  valu- 
able political  library. —  The  Critic  (New  York). 


John  Fiske. 


The  Beginnings  of  New  England  ;  or  The  Puritan 
Theocracy  in  its  relations  to  Civil  and  Religious  Liberty.  Crown 
8vo,  gilt  top,  $2.00. 

It  deals  with  the  early  colonial  history  of  New  England  in  the  enter- 
taining and  vivid  style  which  has  marked  all  Mr.  Fiske's  writings  on 
American  history,  and  it  is  distinguished,  like  tliem,  by  its  aggi'essive 
patriotism  and  its  justice  to  all  parties  in  controversy.  —  Boston  Post. 

The  Critical  Period  of  American  History,  1 783-1 789. 

With  Map,  Notes,  etc.     Crown  8vo,  gilt  top,  $2.00. 

Contents  :  Results  of  Vorktown ;  The  Thirteen  Commonwealths  ; 
The  League  of  Friendship;  Drifting  toward  Anarchy ;  Germs  of  Na- 
tional Sovereignty  ;  The  Federal  Convention  ;  Crowning  the  Work. 

This  book  is  devoted  to  the  obscure  period  between  the  close  of  the 
Revolution  and  the  definite  organization  of  the  present  Constitutional 
Government  of  tlie  United  States.  It  is  the  result  of  minute  researcli, 
and  sheds  a  flood  of  light  on  tlie  various  opposing  views  and  interests 
then  prevailing  in  the  thirteen  States  with  regard  to  the  most  desirable 
form  of  government. 


Henry  Cabot  Lodge. 

Studies  in  History.     Crown  8vo,  $1.50. 

Contents  :  The  Puritans  and  the  Restoration  ;  A  Puritan  Pepys 
(Judge  Sewall)  ;  The  Early  Days  of  Fox  ;  William  Cobbett ;  Alexander 
Hamilton  ;  Timothy  Pickering  ;  Caleb  Strong  ;  Albert  Gallatin  ;  Daniel 
Webster;  Colonialism  in  the  United  States  ;  Fiench  Opinions  of  the 
United  States,  1S40-1S81. 

A  more  acceptable  volume  than  this  collection  of  eleven  essays  could 
hardly  be  provided  for  the  lover  of  American  history. — Magazine  of 
Atrierican  History. 

A.  Lawrence  Lowell. 

Essays  on  Government.     i6mo,  gilt  top,  $1.25. 

Contents  :  Cabinet  Resf)onslbility  and  the  Constitution  ;  Demo- 
cracy and  the  Constitution  ;  The  Responsibilities  of  American  Lawyers  ; 
The  Theory  of  the  Social  Compact ;  The  Limits  of  Sovereignty  ;  Index. 

Mr.  Lowell's  volume  is  one  of  the  most  important  contributions  to 
political  science  that  we  have  recently  been  called  upon  to  notice.  He 
has  not  only  the  great  advantage  of  a  legal  training,  but  also  that  of  a 
thorough  mastery  of  all  the  great  books  upon  the  subject.  —  The  In- 
dependent (New  York). 

Rev.  Elisha  Mulford,  LL.  D. 

The  Nation :  The  Foundations  of  Civil  Order  and 
Political  Life  in  the  United  States.     8vo,  $2.50. 

It  is  a  very  able  discussion  of  what  is  to  me  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant branches  of  political  philosophy.  Every  page  I  have  read  surprises 
me  with  the  extent  and  thoroughness  of  the  author's  study,  and  the 
freshness  and  vigor  of  his  discussion.  —  James  A.  Garfield. 

It  is  a  most  important  contribution  to  our  political  literature,  and 
cannot  fail  to  strengthen  and  elevate  our  national  life. — Charles 
Sumner. 

Woodrow  Wilson. 

Congressional  Government.      A  Study  in  American 

Politics.     i6mo,  $1.25. 

We  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  this  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant books,  dealing  with  political  subjects,  which  have  ever  issued 
from  the  American  press.  ...  His  book  is  evidently  modeled  on  Mr. 
Bagehot's  "  English  Constitution,"  and  it  will,  though  the  praise  is  so 
high  as  to  be  almost  extravagant,  bear  comparison  with  that  inestima- 
ble work.  —  New  York  Evening  Post. 

HOUGHTON,   MIFFLIN   &   CO. 
4  Park  St.,  Boston  ;   11  East  17TH  St.,  New  York. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  996  551      8 


